By Scott Gilfoid: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he’s received an offer from the Far East to stage fight #3 between Deontay Wilder and WBC heavyweight belt holder Tyson Fury for later this year in 2020. Mike Benson states that Frank Warren told him about the Far East offer that Arum has received.
We have to assume that Arum’s offer was from China or Macau since those are places that he talks about staging boxing events. The question is, will Team Wilder be agreeable to going to China or Macau to fight Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) during the height of the pandemic?
If Arum pushes hard to take the Wilder-Fury 3 fight to the Far East, he could have some problems from Wilder’s team. Given the world situation now, it doesn’t reality-based for Arum to be looking to stage the third fight in the Far East. Will that idea fly with Wilder’s team?
Does Arum have a Plan-B location for Wilder-Fury 3?
Hopefully, for Arum’s sake, he’s got some alternatives instead of the Far East being his main option. If he insists on taking the third fight to the Far East, it could be met with resistance. Also, Fury and Wilder’s loyal fans. Asking them to travel to the Far East to see the trilogy isn’t going to make them happy. It’s not just the cost of the tickets, but the risk involved.
Arum has staged fights in places like Macau in the past, and recently had the Jose Ramirez vs. Viktor Postol fight scheduled to take place in China. It’s not surprising that Arum is talking about wanting to stage the Wilder vs. Fury 3 fight in the Far East.
It would be better for the fight to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, or New York. Even London would be a good option. In times like this, Arum should be putting the fans first, shouldn’t he?
According to Blue Blue Sports TV, Wilder told them that someone from his own team spiked his water for his fight with Fury last February, and that’s why he wasn’t at his best. They also said that something was up with Fury’s gloves during the fight. Why the glove issue wasn’t discovered beforehand is an important question.
Deontay plans on turning things around
Everything is going to be different for the third fight. Wilder says he’s going to be fully ready for Fury to even the score.
The 6’7″ Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) surprisingly didn’t say anything about what he’ll do to combat Fury’s rabbit punching. I mean, that would have to be one of the main priorities for the third match, wouldn’t it?
Wilder was in trouble from the third round when Fury hit him behind the head with a right hand that put him down. His left ear was bleeding, and his balance was gone after that.
