Promoter Bob Arum made it clear that Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III won’t happen without spectators.
That could mean that tentative plans to stage the fight sometime in October in Las Vegas will be changed unless restrictions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic ease more quickly than expected.
Arum said in a Top Rank video interview that the fight could be pushed back “a couple more months.”
He said too much money would be lost without paying spectators, which is being considered for smaller shows. According to BoxingScene.com, Fury-Wilder II on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas generated a live gate of $16,916,440.
“It’s one thing to take events that were done with two, three-thousand people and do them now without crowds,” Arum said. “It’s not nearly as egregious as doing a Tyson Fury-Wilder fight without fans.
“… When the fans in the last fight put in almost $17 million into the coffers in purchase of tickets … how do you replace that $17 million? I mean, you don’t. You can’t.
““A Fury-Wilder fight might have to wait a couple more months until we can go back to full spectators. For a sport like boxing when big events where the gate money is so much a big percentage of the revenue, I don’t see how you can do it without spectators.”
The third Fury-Wilder fight was originally targeted for July 18 but was postponed because of the pandemic.
Fury stopped Wilder in seven rounds in February. Wilder then exercised a clause in their contract that allowed for a third fight.