A new date has emerged for Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder 3 – with December 19 now the target to stage the world heavyweight title showdown.
Brad Jacobs of Top Rank – which promotes Fury along with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions – says the hope is that by then arenas will again be allowed to stage events with meaningful live gates in attendance.
Top Rank is already staging shows in the United States on ESPN as the sport starts to come out of the global COVID-19 pandemic, but those are taking place behind closed doors and Top Rank president Bob Arum has said that could not happen with Fury vs Wilder 3.
The second fight between the pair – a seventh-round TKO victory for Fury in Las Vegas in February – brought in a live gate of just under $17million – a record for a heavyweight bout. And also a huge gap to fill for promoters if the fight did take place without a crowd..
Jacobs told Sky Sports: “We are focusing on December 19 and are hoping that, by then, we are back to a nearly normal situation. That may be a 50 per cent capacity.”
A number of possible venues have been mentioned for the fight, from Macau, to Australia on Christmas Day, to the new Allegiant Stadium – home of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders.
Arum told ESPN on Wednesday that Allegiant Stadium has been reserved for the date, explaining: “We’ve reserved (December 19 at) Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders are playing on that Thursday (December 17) , which is perfect. After the game is over, we put up the ring and so forth.”
For now, while planing is intensive, there are many unknowns with a situation that appears to change daily.
Jacobs said: “We are looking towards what the next step is. A small hall with 1,000 people? A big arena that holds 15,000 but with 3,000 inside? How close can people sit? It is a huge undertaking to reach this next step. We are investigating it actively.”
Fury and Wilder will meet with the WBC, lineal and Ring magazine world titles on the line – all currently held by Fury.