By Jeff Aronow: Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 will have a good undercard with three heavyweights clashes or their trilogy match on Fox Sports pay-per-view on July 24th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Although it was originally talked about staging the Fury vs. Wilder III clash at the new 65,000 seat Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the promoters for the event have chosen to stage the fight at the smaller 20,000 seats T-Mobile Arena.
Are there doubts in the minds of the promoters for the event that Fury-Wilder 3 would sell tickets? Could be. Fury is from the UK, and Wilder is from Alabama.
Las Vegas is far away from the homes of both of these giant heavyweights, and the clash may not bring in the big numbers that it previously did pre-pandemic.
Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) is facing WBC champion Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) in an attempt to recapture his belt that he lost in 2020 in a seventh-round stoppage.
With a new trainer in Malik Scott and a brand new style, the American ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder will be trying to beat the much heavier 270+ lb Fury take back his title, and then face Anthony Joshua in December.
These are the three undercard fights pegged for the Fury vs. Wilder III clash next month on July 24th in Las Vegas, Nevada:
- Frank Sanchez vs. Efe Ajagba
- Robert Helenius vs. Adam Kownacki II
- Jared Anderson vs. TBA
Overall, those are pretty decent fights, but nothing really stands out as a fight that will attract casual boxing fans.
Frank Sanchez vs. Efe Ajagba
Undefeated 2016 Olympian Efe Ajagba (15-0, 12 KOs) is the biggest puncher of the group, but he might not be ready to take on a polished fighter like Cuban Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) at this point in his career.
With Ajagba’s punching power, if he catches the 6’4″ Sanchez with one of his booming right hands, it’s going to be lights out. Ajagba is the closest thing to Deontay Wilder in terms of punching power in the heavyweight division.
Sanchez might be the best of the lot in terms of experience with his background in amateur boxing in Cuba.
Jared Anderson vs. TBA
Unbeaten American Jared Anderson (9-0, 9 KOs) might have the most long-term potential of the group, as he’s only 21-years-old and already looking like he’s destined for world title honors in the future.
The 6’4″ Anderson has looked superb in his recent fights, beating the mediocre opposition his promoters at Top Rank have been putting in with him. Given the poor opposition that Anderson has been matched against, his promoters will take it slow with him.
Right now, Anderson would be better off if he was still fighting as an amateur because he would be fighting quality opposition. He’s not doing that as a pro, unfortunately.
Adam Kownacki vs. Robert Helenius
Heavyweight Adam Kownacki (20-1, 15 KOs) was stopped by the big 6’6″ Swede Robert Helenius (30-3, 19 KOs) last year in March in a war.
Helenius, 37, was getting pummeled initially by Kownacki, but he tagged him with a big shot in the fourth round that badly hurt him.
Moments later, Helenius dropped Kownacki. After getting back up, Kownacki was a sitting duck for Helenius, who finished him off with a flurry of shots that led to the referee stopping the contest.