Boxing has witnessed super-fight after super-fight in 2023.
The bouts involving Gervonta Davis and Ryan Garcia in May, and Errol Spence Jr. and Terene Crawford in July, generated almost 2 million sales at the American box office.
The sport has also produced strong matches between David Benavidez and Caleb Plant, Devin Haney and Vasiliy Lomachenko, and, more recently, Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez.
Yes, the spotlight has shone on mid-sized men in boxing.
But, according to Top Rank boss Bob Arum, soon the big men will get their turn. And, when they do, it’ll be Tyson Fury who holds the keys to that division’s biggest shows.
The veteran fight promoter told us the event between Fury and Ngannou scheduled for October 28 in Saudi Arabia “is going to be a super-fight.”
Perhaps, more importantly, though, is what may follow.
One of Fury’s main rivals to his throne as the No.1 heavyweight in boxing is Oleksandr Usyk, who competes against Daniel Dubois on August 26 in Poland.
“If Tyson and Usyk are both successful, then we might see a fight between them for the undisputed heavyweight championship” in 2024, said Arum.
Top Rank has enjoyed a profitable relationship with Fury, not least because the company staged two of the heavyweight division’s best fights in the post-Klitschko era when it helped organize parts two and three of the historic rivalry with Deontay Wilder.
Since defeating the American 2-0-1 in the series of three bouts, Fury has gone on to beat Dillian Whyte by sixth round knockout at Wembley Stadium in London, before stopping Derek Chisora in the 10th round at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, also in London.
Now, the Fury show goes back on the road, to Saudi Arabia for the Ngannou fight. Then, perhaps, the Usyk unification.
It is a career path Arum and those at Top Rank’s HQ in Las Vegas always seemed to envisage for Fury.
“We always hoped [we’d get to these types of events/paydays for Fury],” Arum told ProBox TV. “But, in boxing, there are always disappointments. With Tyson, though. he’s never disappointed us.”
