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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Freddie Keighley

Tyson Fury's promoter targeting September return for spectators at boxing events

Tyson Fury's promoter Bob Arum hopes boxing events can welcome back limited crowds from September onwards.

The Top Rank boss is also targeting the month for a lightweight unification fight between Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez.

Ukrainian Lomachenko was due to face American-Honduran Lopez in May but the bout was postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

But Arum plans to reintroduce boxing behind closed doors starting on 9 June and hopes fans can return three months later.

“That’s going to be one of our September cards, where we’re going to be open to, hopefully, spectators,” he told ESPN .

Arum hopes fans can return to ringside in September (Getty Images)

Arum also wants to stage another bumper unification fight between bantamweight champions Naoya Inoue and John Riel Casimero.

The bouts are set to take place at iconic Las Vegas venue the MGM Grand Garden Arena and Arum is planning for up to 3,000 fans to attend.

He added: "We would be able to bring in high-rollers from Japan, and set it up at the MGM Grand, or the Mandalay Bay for 2,500, or 3,000 (fans)."

Arum also discussed the trilogy fight between Fury and Deontay Wilder, originally scheduled to take place on 18 July but postponed amid the outbreak.

Arum admits Fury and Wilder's trilogy fight could take place outside the US and the UK (USA TODAY Sports)

He confirmed that he is now exploring the possibility of hosting the fight outside of Wilder's homeland of America or Fury's native Britain.

"It may very well be that we might have to do it out of the U.S., out of the UK," Arum added.

"We're in constant contact with the PBC. We're working for a location, we have two possibilities to do that fight, appropriate for prime time in the United States.

"Obviously there's different time zones. We hope to put it together in the next month."

Arum claimed last month it was unthinkable to host the trilogy fight between the two heavyweights behind closed doors - but admitted this could mean the fight does not happen until 2021.

“I talked to Tyson Fury on Sunday and I told him the earliest I thought the fight could happen is November. Who knows even about November?” Arum told BoxingScene.com.

“Obviously, we cannot do Fury and Wilder without an audience. If you are going to do it with an audience, are people going to be willing to get on a plane and come to Las Vegas?

"So many of the fans come from the UK. A lot of that has to be taken into account. Maybe it doesn’t happen until next year.”

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