Promoter Bob Arum says there is a “real, real possibliity” that Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 will be staged in Australia.
Arum – who promotes Fury along with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions – revealed last week that Australia, along with Macau, was in the mix to stage the bout if crowds are not allowed back into United States arenas later this year.
The 88-year-old Hall Of Famer has consistently said the fight would not be staged behind closed doors – the rematch between the pair in Las Vegas in February brought in a record live gate for a heavyweight fight of almost $17million – a hefty gap to fill.
On Sunday promoter Dean Lonergan said there was a plan in the offing to hold the bout at Sydney’s Bankwest Stadium on Boxing Day afternoon local time to cater for a late Christmas night showing in the United States.
And now Arum has added weight to that claim by telling The Australian: “I talked with the Wilder people – they are all in on it. As long as you do it around noon in Australia, that is prime time back in the United States. We did the Pacquiao-Horn fight (in Brisbane in 2017) that way.
“We are working through everything but in essence we have to do it this year and the question then is will Australia, which seems like they have the coronavirus under control, would they allow an event with a full stadium. It is a real, real possibility. Again, there is so much involved that is usually not involved in planning an event because of this virus.”
Arum said the new few weeks will give all the key stakeholders a better idea of what is possible in terms of potential venue options, explaining: “We will get a better idea sometime early August. He (Lonergan) is not going to have answers before that. There is a lot more planning than usual. For example, we have to look at whether the travel ban is lifted.
“In other words, can we freely fly to Australia from the United States. We are encouraged that somehow the Moloney brothers (Andrew and Jason) flew over from Aussie and they are living in Las Vegas and fighting at the end of June. There are a lot of factors that are new because of the coronavirus situation.
“In essence, one of the things that Dean has to sort out with the government is whether at that point in time, they would allow a live audience.
“The reason we are even looking outside the United States is because there is no assurance at all that we would be able to do an event before a live audience even in the fourth quarter of this year.”
