By Barry Holbrook: Bob Arum isn’t sure if Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury will pull in $100 million each like what’s being talked about. Top Rank boss Arum has heard the rumors about AJ and Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) walking away with $100 million apiece, and he says there’s no way of knowing if they will.
Given the amount of interest from boxing fans worldwide, it’s possible that IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) and WBC champ Fury can make $100M from the first fight, but it would likely require a huge amount of the buys coming from the U.S, which has a much bigger population than the United Kingdom.
We still don’t know how much the Fury vs. AJ fight will be selling for on pay-per-view in the United States and the UK.
If the fight goes $100 per household like we saw for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor fights, the Fury – Joshua fight could bring in a massive amount of revenue that could result in both fighters taking in $100 million each.
For the sake of fans, it would be better if Fury and Joshua don’t make that kind of money because it takes away their motivation to continue fighting. We’ve seen fighters make a tiny fraction of that amount, and the money ruined their carers.
A lot of fighters stop wanting to fight, and they want to enjoy the loot. You can argue that’s what happened with Mayweather. He made a fortune from the Pacquiao fight and took away his desire to keep fighting.
Arum not sure if Fury & Joshua make $100 Million
“I don’t know. I heard someone quoting me saying ‘$100 [million]’ a piece for the first fight,” said Arum to IFL TV when asked how much money Fury and Joshua will make for their fight. “Who knows?
“I would like maybe a billion dollars that they divide, but you don’t know how big the cake is going to be until you see all the ingredients, and we haven’t seen all the ingredients yet.
“So everything to determine what these two fights will be worth is conjecture at this point.
“95%,” said Arum when asked how sure he is the Joshua vs. Fury fight will happen this year.
“I was Eddie that suggested it. It would be Frank’s fighters on one side and Eddie’s Matchroom fighters on the other, and that would add a nice element to the event,” said Arum about the undercard for the Joshua vs. Fury first fight.
Arum obviously would be overjoyed if Fury and Joshua make $100 million each because there would be a lot of money that would float down to the promoters. It would be a dream come true.
It’s important that the first Fury vs. Joshua fight be competitive since fans will be more motivated to purchase the second fight on PPV if it’s a close or controversial result.
The worst thing that could happen is if there’s a blowout like we saw with Fury’s seventh-round knockout victory over Deontay Wilder in 2020. It was such a one-sided fight that a lot of boxing fans vowed not to waste their money on a trilogy.
Fury vs. Joshua contracts could be signed by the end of January
“I talked to Eddie earlier in the week, we’re going to be going over a draft contract,” said Arum about the Joshua vs. Fury negotiations.
“I’m in contact with Frank [Warren], and I think that Eddie is going to forward a draft to me maybe over the weekend, and I’ll circulate it with Frank.
“Based on my conversations with Eddie, I don’t see any major difficulties effectuating this event. I hope so, yeah,” said Arum when asked if he hopes to have signed contracts by the end of January.
“I don’t see any [obstacles]. Again, sometimes stumbling blocks come up that you haven’t discussed. But based on my conversation with Eddie and Frank, I don’t see any stumbling blocks.
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“Yeah, I talked to Eddie about it, and I don’t think that’s going to be a problem,” Arum said about the network issues.
“That is being worked on, and both sides are going to agree on the location when we solidify an arrangement.
“There are a lot of elements to consider when picking a location, but the primary one is economic,” said Arum.
It’s good that the contracts will be signed soon for the fight because they need to get this thing done already.
The venue still needs to be decided
“I really believe if it were between the U.S and the UK, it would be in the UK,” said Arum about the location of the Joshua vs. Fury fight.
“The fight is big for everybody in boxing, but it is particularly big for the fans in the United Kingdom.
“That’s pretty much a given. Now the question is, do you move it out of the United Kingdom and put it someplace else because the economics dictate that.
“That’s to be decided, and I don’t have any facts on that at his particular point. The effect of the pandemic in May and June and the effect of the pandemic in November and December, I think it’s like day and night almost.
“I think certainly by November or December, all reasonable people, the experts say, the pandemic will be in the rearview mirror.
“Yes, I’ve spoken to Tyson a number of times, and Tyson is very enthusiastic. Obviously, when we get to a draft that everybody likes, we’ll run it by Tyson and his lawyer Robert Davis, who has been very cooperative through this whole thing and we’ll get it done.
“Yeah, Tyson is very enthusiastic. He can’t wait,” said Arum.
It would be better for Fury and Joshua if they stage the fight in the UK. Even if it doesn’t make as much money as it would in a foreign country, it might help with the pay-per-view sales.
The energy that would be generated by having the Joshua vs. Fury fight in the UK would be priceless. It would likely carry over to increased PPV sales.
There will be a lot of work involved by the promoters if they stage the Fury – Joshua fight in a foreign country that they’ve never staged a fight before.