Bob Arum says Mike Tyson vs. Fury exhibition bout would do a lot of PPV buys

By Boxing News - 05/15/2020 - Comments

By Allan Fox: Bob Arum believes that an exhibition bout between ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21 K.O.s) would bring in a lot of pay-per-view buys for charity. However, Arum sees this as a bad time to be selling an exhibition clash for $80 per household. With high unemployment, there may not be too many takers in purchasing the fight.

Arum says he won’t finance the Tyson vs. Fury exhibition match, and it’s understandable why he wouldn’t. It would be a risky thing for Arum to put his own money up for a fight that could do poor numbers right now.

Wrong time to be selling PPV

Under normal circumstances, Tyson-Fury would bring in a lot of buys, but not now. The States have shut down a lot of companies, causing people to be laid or not getting a check. Moreover, the government stimulus checks have been slow in coming with a lot of U.S. citizens still waiting to receive them.

It might not be any better if the Tyson faces Fury in the U.K. on pay-per-view over there.

An exhibition match between Tyson and Fury would likely do great numbers on PPV if the economy were better. Still, the timing is terrible for a charity exhibition match between them.

The problem that the 53-year-old Mike has is his age. He can’t wait too long for the pandemic to eventually end before he fights. If he’s waiting around for ten years, that’s not going to work.

“I think it could do a lot of pay-per-view business,” Arum said to Deadspin. “But would I want to bet on it by putting up my own money? No way. Millions of people are unemployed.

“Would they be willing to spend $80 to watch a 50-year-old man perform in the ring? I have my doubts. Without the backing of a site fee, I don’t think it’s possible,” said Arum.

As far as Arum’s assertion that Tyson vs. Fury doing “a lot per-view buys,” it depends on what he considers “a lot.” It might not bring in a lot of buys at all, and someone would take a bath in this one. For U.S. boxing fans, they wouldn’t be all that excited at seeing Tyson fight an exhibition match against Fury, who has a boring style of fighting.

Wilder or Joshua would make better options for Mike Tyson

American fans would be more interested in watching Tyson fight Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua. Those two have a lot of fans in the U.S. due to their exciting styles of fighting. Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Mike Tyson would also be of enormous interest from fans in the States, but it’s debatable whether it would bring in a lot of buys on PPV.

Getting Wilder or Joshua to agree to face Mike Tyson in an exhibition match could prove difficult, if not possible. They have a lot of respect for Tyson, and they may not be eager to take part in an exhibition match. They would be expected to punch Tyson, and it’s doubtful they would be willing to do that.

“I would entertain the idea of Tyson Fury fighting an exhibition against Tyson if the money was going to a legitimate charity,” Arum said. “And I wouldn’t finance it. I would put sweat equity into it. I think it would be good for Tyson.”

It would be good for Arum if Tyson Fury faces ‘Iron Mike’ in an exhibition match because he promotes the 6’9″ British heavyweight. He’s trying to turn him into a massive star in the U.S. Although Fury recently defeated former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder by a seventh-round knockout on February 22, he’s still not a star in the U.S.

YouTube video