Are you confident we will see the heavyweight super-fight that is Tyson Fury Vs. Anthony Joshua next year? Bob Arum has told Sky Sports how the fight is “an easy fight to make” for 2022, and The Hall of Fame promoter says the two fighters “owe the British public” the fight, and to this end, it should take place in the UK. Plenty of UK fans will enjoy hearing what Arum has had to say, yet plenty of these same fans will no doubt be unwilling to look forward to seeing the mega-fight just yet. There are of course a number of obstacles to be overcome first.
Not least, Joshua has to beat Oleksandr Usyk in September, and Fury has to beat Deontay Wilder in their third fight in October. Is there a good chance one or both defending champions will come unstuck? Maybe. But assuming both men do win their upcoming fights, Arum says a big “screw you” to any further mandatory demands should be put forth; these two have to fight each other next.
“Joshua is fighting in September, we are fighting in October. Obviously [Fury-Joshua] will take place next year,” Arum told Sky Sports today. “But February, March, or April? That remains to be seen. My hope is that the fight goes to the UK. I don’t care what the money is. Both fighters owe the UK fans this tremendous event at Wembley or Cardiff, rather than taking it to a foreign country. My position is: if Fury and Joshua win, screw any mandatories! Fury Vs. Joshua is the fight that people want to see. Period. End of story. It’s not a hard fight to make.”
Arum added how there was “no deal with the Saudis,” for an August fight between Fury and AJ, this despite what we were led to believe, Arum stating that if there had been a deal, “the arbitrator would not have [ruled for Fury to fight Wilder instead]. He would have allowed [Fury-Joshua] to happen, and he would have given damages to Wilder.”
Eddie Hearn will no doubt disagree strongly with Arum on this note.
But we now await a concrete deal, and Arum has made it clear the fight should take place in the UK. This does not mean the fight WILL take place in the UK – will Hearn try again to reach a lucrative deal with the Saudis? But again, plenty of fans will agree with Arum. Assuming both AJ and Fury do win this year, there is nothing, in the opinion of Arum, stopping them from getting it on with each other sometime in the first quarter of 2022.
Belts or no belts, this fight has to happen.
