“I am optimistic” - Bob Arum pitches two mega-fights for Tyson Fury
Bob Arum is keeping his hopes alive that Tyson Fury will make a change of heart in his decision to retire from professional boxing.
‘The Gypsy King’ has repeatedly claimed that he is now retired after knocking out Dillian Whyte in April to defend his WBC Heavyweight Title.
Watch Tyson Fury KO Dillian Whyte to remain undefeated:
Despite Fury’s vow never to fight again professionally, the legendary promoter believes “sometime down the road” that the itch of returning to the squared circle will be unbearable for the 33-year-old champion. Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank Promotions, even pitched two mega-fights for Fury’s potential return.
In an interview with FightHype.com, he said:
“For a guy like Tyson, you have to take it one step at a time. So I’m optimistic without discussing it with him, that sometime down the road, he’ll fight the winner of [Anthony] Joshua- [Oleksandr] Usyk [rematch], which I hope is Usyk, and he’ll fight Ngannou and maybe call it a day. I know he loves training and loves being in the ring, so that’s a plus.”
Watch Bob Arum talk about Tyson Fury in this video by FightHype:
Fury was reportedly in talks to fight the winner of the Usyk-Joshua rematch later this year though he has vehemently denied the rumors. Ukraine’s Usyk currently holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight straps.
Bob Arum wants to make Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou a reality
Considering Fury's latest pronouncements, a superfight against UFC heavyweight star Francis Ngannou has a better chance of becoming a reality than returning to the professional scene.
However, Ngannou is still recovering from his knee injury issues and is unlikely to fight again until 2023. Despite this, Bob Arum revealed he is interested in making the fight a reality, with or without the UFC.
In the same interview with FightHype.com, the 90-year-old promoter said:
“The MMA guy [Ngannou] is still recovering from an injury, but I would love to do that fight. Depending on Ngannou’s contract with the UFC, we need to do it with or without the UFC, but that would be a huge, huge event.”
He went on to say:
“I’m interested. Who wouldn’t be? Ngannou is the heavyweight champion of the UFC, and Tyson Fury, I think it would be a huge, huge event.”
Fury and Ngannou verbally agreed to fight each other in a cross-sport megafight following the former’s victory over Dillian Whyte in April.
Ngannou believes he has the power to stop Fury 👊 https://t.co/oQsi31cl1v