Bob Arum says no step aside, wants to get the Deontay Wilder trilogy fight over with
On May 17, an earthquake on a global scale rocked the sport of boxing. The world was all set to see the undisputed mega-fight between WBC champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury and unified champion Anthony “AJ” Joshua. Fury took to social media to assure the fans the fight was a go after speaking with Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia. Moreover, the boxing community became privy to the financial side. Fans learned that the site fee of $155 million dollars was going to be evenly split between both champions. However, the elephant in the room, former WBC champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder, has crashed the party. Arbitrator Daniel Weinstein declared that Fury must uphold the expired trilogy fight by September 15.
This is one of the biggest monkey wrenches to derail the business side of boxing plans. While some fans were hoping this would not happen, others had a feeling it was bound to be a problem.
COMING FULL CIRCLE
Wilder has been trying to force a trilogy fight with the Gypsy King since losing the title in the February 2020 rematch. The fight could never materialize once the global COVID-19 pandemic put everything on hold. Equally important, both parties were scrambling to make the rematch clause’s contractual deadline. They finally agreed to host the fight on December 19, 2020. However, both major networks, Fox and ESPN, declared there were no available dates before 2021. This resulted in team Fury opting to move on towards the undisputed fight with Joshua.
Arum more than likely is not happy about the ruling, but he probably is not surprised by it either. The Top Rank CEO attended the arbitration meeting back in April, and he hinted that a trilogy fight could be a possibility. Of course, with news like this dropping, the first thing some fans and boxing enthusiasts call for is to pay step aside money. That is always an option in any situation, but the payout would be massive given the financial implications of Fury vs Joshua, as previously stated.
LET’S GET THIS OVER WITH
Well, fans can scratch that off the list and prepare themselves for the trilogy fight. Arum made it clear in an interview with ESPN’s Mark Kriegel there will be no step aside paid.
“We are not paying Wilder to step aside. It’s better to get rid of him and go about our business. We can make the Fury vs Joshua fight for November or December.”
The Top Rank boss also revealed they have a reservation to host Wilder v Fury 3 with Allegiant Stadium, home of the Las Vegas Raiders football team.
The boxing community will have mixed feelings about this news. For some, it is going to be a tough pill to swallow. For others, it is a celebration that justice has been served.
By: Garrisson Bland
