Bob Arum Blasts Fans Demanding Fury-Joshua Fight

Bob Arum has blasted angry fans demanding him make Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.

After Fury TKO’d Deontay Wilder in February of 2020, many figured a fight against Anthony Joshua would be next. It would be a massive fight for the heavyweight division, the sport, and UK boxing in general. However, for whatever reason, the fight has still not been made and fans are getting angry about that. For Arum, he says talks are still happening and when the fight will happen is when it will happen.

“He’s getting impatient. That’s how he is,” Arum told BoxingScene. “I think that everybody is proceeding the way they should be proceeding. When the fight will take place, where it will take place — that will work itself out. But right now we’ve got a mother f—— pandemic. You can’t look at this like it’s (2019).”

Yet, over the weekend, Fury attended the MTK Global card in Bolton, England, to support his friend Isaac Lowe, who won on the undercard. During the broadcast, he was interviewed where he said the fight was nowhere close to being done, despite what Eddie Hearn and his team have been saying.

According to Bob Arum, the problem is money. He says no country will put up big money to host the event, while having fans in attendance is key. They also want the fight as close to UK primetime as possible given it is a massive fight for the country. Add all those factors in, and Arum is growing frustrated with fans thinking the fight can be made just like that.

“You know what I say? Go f— yourself. Find a life. That’s what I would say to them,” Arum said. “For Christ sake, we’re all dealing with a fraught situation that is none of our fault and we don’t have the expertise if there is any expertise to deal with it. “(The earliest would be) end of June, beginning of July. But, again, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know what the medical experts are saying.

“We’re all in a very fraught situation because we’re dealing with an element we have no control over,” Arum continued. “I’m hoping to get spectators for May 22 (in Las Vegas for the Jose Ramirez-Josh Taylor undisputed junior welterweight title fight) but what happens if there’s a surge (in Covid-19) and the governor says, ‘Screw you, no spectators.’ (Fury) looks at it from his standpoint, training and all of that sort of stuff and he’s angry. Not angry at us, angry at the pandemic I guess. We can’t wave a wand and make it go away.

“There are no substantive issues except for the pandemic. Who’s going to put up money for a site unless they can attract people from the outside? He’s impatient,” Arum concluded. “He’s a fighter. He’s training. He wants a date. He wants to know how he prepares. We all want that. It is what it is. There are no villains here other than the pandemic. Not Eddie. Everybody is behaving appropriately except the pandemic.”

Do you think we see Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua in 2021?