Bob Arum thinks the big rematch could be next!
Veteran promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Promotions believes the mega rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder could be next.
On June 15, his fighter, Fury, completely dismantled the German no-hoper Tom Schwarz on ESPN+ within two rounds. The farce of a prizefight was meant to bolster Fury’s reputation and notoriety with the American audience.
It also was to be the first of two bouts before staging a rematch with Wilder.
On this side of Fury v Schwarz, Arum feels that the recent promotion was so stellar that the public is ready for Wilder v Fury 2 now.
In an exclusive interview with Helen Yee Sports, he delved a bit into his positive outlook on the matter.
“Well you know, I think we have to really look at the situation and […] it’ll be up to ESPN and FOX. Maybe we go right to the fight now.
“You know I needed, felt I needed, two fights with Tyson Fury in order to really have the public take a look at him and realize what a phenomenal athlete and entertainer he was.
But because ESPN did such a magnificent job in helping us promote this last fight with Schwarz, maybe we can go right now into a Wilder fight. But that would depend, again, how the other side feels about it.”
Of course, this is Bob Arum we’re talking about. So, everything must be taken with a grain of salt. It cannot be forgotten that Arum is famous for his quote, “yesterday I was lying but today I am telling the truth”.
Also, many boxing fans blame Arum for derailing the Wilder v Fury rematch in the first place, so his words must be absorbed with caution.
On A Positive Note
Yet, if we choose to be optimistic, this is very good news. The Bronze Bomber and his team have always clamored for the fight and seemingly would jump at the chance to tangle with Fury again. Especially if that opportunity came sooner rather than later.
Before Wilder can hop back in the ring with Fury though, he has another dangerous rematch to take care of first. While there is no formal date or venue yet, Wilder v Ortiz 2 is tentatively looking towards taking place around September.
After flooring Ortiz, the Bronze Bomber survived his own scary moments in the seventh round before knocking out King Kong in the tenth round of their action-packed bout last March 2018.
Even though Wilder will enter into the rematch the betting favorite, there is no guarantee that he will prevail. Provided the champion does emerge victorious and Bob Arum sticks to his word, Wilder v Fury 2 could be the first fight to follow.
Facing Fury after Ortiz is what the Bronze Bomber always wanted. A couple of weeks ago, Wilder publicly stated that this was the case.
However, it was Fury who went to the media saying that he had not signed up for the rematch just yet.
Arum would also speak on who would promote the bout.
“Both. I mean it’s gonna be a pay-per-view and you know we’d have two tremendous megaphones.
“We would bring ESPN, the other side would bring FOX, two major networks. I think it’d work very, very well. Easier than HBO and SHOWTIME, which didn’t have a history of working together.
“But ESPN and FOX have a big history of working together.”
By: Bakari Simpson
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