By Jim Maltzman: Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will soon know where they’ll be meeting for their trilogy match this year. Fury’s promoter Bob Arum says the fight will take place in November or December in the U.S in a full stadium or Macau, China.
The Top Rank boss Arum is hopeful that Fury (30-0, 21 KOs) will be able to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) in the United States.
The second wave threat
One problem that could get in the way of the fight taking place in America is the situation with live events. Fury vs. Wilder 3 is a big enough fight to where it would fill a large arena if not a stadium. It’s too early right now with the pandemic situation to know whether it’ll clear up.
With Arum interested in scheduling the Tyson vs. Deontay trilogy match in fall, it could be impacted by a second wave of the pandemic. That’s not an ideal time to organize the fight. It could be trouble for Arum to take the risk of arranging Wilder vs. Fury III for the U.S in November or December, considering that’s when the second wave could hit.
The CDC doesn’t know whether the treated second wave will hit, but it’s assumed that if it does happen, it’ll take place in the fall.
Arum will need a state and local government to give permission to stage a live boxing event. Fury vs. Wilder III is too big of a fight to place it behind closed doors.
There would be too much money lost if the match were to be held without a crowd, and that’s why Arum is looking at potentially staging it in Macau.
Fury-Wilder still possible for the U.S
“Yeah, it’s too early to do it for October,” said Arum to IFL TV on the date for Fury vs. Wilder 3. “We talked to the PBC guys, and we’ve had a great relationship with them.
“So we’re looking for November or December. I hope it’ll be in the United States if we can do it with a full stadium, which probably won’t be the case,” said Arum.
It will be surprising if Fury and Wilder fight in the States in November or December. Even if Arum schedules it, there’s a chance that the U.S government could cancel it. The lockdown is supposed to end this month, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t see additional stoppages of the economy.
It would be smart for Arum to place the Fury-Wilder III fight in Macau, where it has a better chance of taking place. It would be a massive gamble for the match to be staged in the U.S for November or December, given the likelihood of a second wave.
Macau an option for fight
“We have it being reviewed in Macau now with the properties that will put up the money to do the fight,” said
“The government is considering whether to allow it in November or December for a full audience. And also our friends in Australia are talking about doing the [Fury vs. Wilder III] fight over there because they’re convinced that they’ve handled the outbreak so well that they’ll be up and running with a full stadium as early as November or December.
So that’s what we’re considering. It’s not just the old days where you look around and make a deal and put the fight on. It’s a little more complicated now,” said Arum.
In the past, Arum has staged fights in Macau, so this is a great location to stage the Wilder-Fury 3 fight. Arum needs a site that gives the battle the best chance of taking place without being postponed, and Macau sounds like a good plan.
Wilder was wiped out by Fury in a seventh-round knockout last February in their rematch in Las Vegas. Surprisingly, going into the fight, a lot of boxing fans were picking Wilder to win.
The fans ignored how Fury had dominated Wilder through the majority of their first fight in 2018. What the fans and the media forgot was that Fury was very unlucky not to be given the decision. A lot of people couldn’t erase the image of Fury being knocked down – and seemingly out – in the 12th round of that fight.
That knockdown was replayed so many times by sporting networks like ESPN that it convinced a lot of people that Wilder would win the rematch.
Arum determined Fury vs. Wilder III happens in November or December
“I’m bound and determined. I told Tyson that we’re going to do that fight in November or December,” continued Arum. “He said he’s okay with that, and Wilder said he’s fine with that.
“One way or the other, I’m going to get it done. I don’t know,” said Arum when asked what’s the percentage chance of the Fury-Wilder 3 fight ending up in Macau. “They’re very interested. I think the only impediment is, will they open, there’s an arena there that seats 10,000.
“That’s where they had the Asian Games. It’s a beautiful arena. The question is, will they allow us to do an event. We have all indications that the Chinese government and the government in Macau, which was appointed by Beijing, will give us the go-ahead to put it on. And every one of the properties in Macau has tentatively agreed to put up the money to make it happen,” said Arum.
It sounds like Arum is leaning in the direction of staging Fury’s trilogy fight against Wilder in Macau. That’s the smart move because there’s too much risk in putting that fight in the United States.
If Arum gambles on the match going ahead in the tail-end of this year in the U.S, it could blow up in his face with the government not allowing it to take place.
The longer it takes this fight to happen, the better it is for Wilder, as he’s coming off of bicep surgery. He needs as much time as possible to recover from that, and dissect what went wrong in his loss last February.
