Breaking News: COVID-19 Outbreak In Tyson Fury Camp Threatens To Postpone Fury Vs Wilder 3 In Las Vegas This Month
By Cassandra Cousineau of LVSportsBiz.com
The much-heralded Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder heavyweight championship trilogy fight slated for later this month in Las Vegas is in jeopardy due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Fury’s camp.
Scheduled for July 24, at T-Mobile Arena, the Fury/Wilder PPV event was also set to feature three additional heavyweight bouts including a meeting of undefeated prospects with Cuba’s Frank Sanchez (18-0, 13 KOs) meeting Nigeria’s Efe Ajagba (12 KOs).
Top Rank founder Bob Arum says the promotion is monitoring the situation and has yet to make a decision.
“We have the doctors checking everybody. A couple guys have gotten COVID. We’re assessing the situation. Maybe there will be a postponement. Maybe it’ll be July 24. I don’t know yet,” Arum said.
At stake is millions of dollars of revenue at the gate, for hotels and for the boxers’ bank accounts. The gate for the second Fury/Wilder bout generated $16,916,440, which is a Nevada record for a heavyweight title fight. The pay-per-view, priced at $79.99, secured nearly 900,000 buys.
Fury, the WBC and Ring Magazine Lineal champion, was to fight fellow Brit Anthony Joshua, the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO champ, after a year long negotiation. Shortly after the two teams finally reached a breakthrough – a U.S. judge ruled that Wilder had the right to a third fight with Fury.
Wilder has accused his own trainer and Fury of cheating and sabotaging the second meeting on Feb 22. 2020 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Wilder ecently reiterated those claims suggesting, he had put an egg weight in his gloves, and stressed he believed Fury would try to cheat in their third bout — if it’s held in light of this COVID outbreak.
“You think he ain’t gonna try to cheat this time?’
If Fury/Wilder 3 is postponed, this will be the second major money-making event for Top Rank needing to be moved due to COVID this year. Teofimo Lopez, the unified lightweight champion, tested positive for the virus days before his June 19 title defense against George Kambosos. Lopez, a Top Rank signed fighter, was set to earn at least $3 million from Triller before PPV buys. The fight has yet to be rescheduled.
Fury, known as “The Gypsy King,” has been training at a gym in Las Vegas alongside SugarHill Steward and Jorge Capetillo. Nevada has had the highest increase in average number of hospitalizations, which had risen nearly 62 percent over the previous two weeks, to 441. COVID-19 test positivity rate jumped to 8.7% in Nevada. Clark County reported over 1,300+ cases over the July 4th holiday weekend.
Arum told ESPN, “As far as I know, (Fury) doesn’t have it.”
