I worry he is going to pick another mismatch for Fury next. What is Arums tactic? Why so many boring defences rather than unifications? Reminds me of in the U.K how Frank Warren would pad records for way too long then eventually they step onto the world stage. Arum seems to do the padding with defences. Beats me. Fans drop off.
He won't make the PPV money from the hardcore fans, it will come from attracting a wider casual audience. Get Fury on in the US on ESPN, get him on chat shows, exploit ESPN's considerable pull with sports teams etc for photo ops etc. Mixed with easier fights that help to build a KO showreel and some momentum. Low risk high reward when the eventual PPV comes around.
He just wants to grow a Wilder vs. Fury rematch as big as possible. Fans drop off? A casual boxing fan in America might not even know who Tyson Fury is. So, Arum wants to educate them first and sell them a PPV later (the first half of 2020).
Fury was basically saying “I’ll fight whoever Arum puts in front of me” and I was like “Oh no I’ve heard this before”. I suppose Fury doesn’t have casuals at the moment but the small fights get a lot less media attention in the U.K. most casual fans didn’t even know this fight was happening, same with Joshua vs Ruiz. The big fights are talked about everywhere by everybody. They’re the ones that pick up the casual fans.
Personally, I wouldn't mind this tactic if the fighters kept more active. Fury talked big about a Wilder rematch but 6 months later we got Tom Schwarz... And it looks like another mismatch is on the agenda as well.
Fury already said he wants Wilder 2 but NOT in 2019. He will fight him first half of 2020. Which is fine to me. Fury hasn't a belt. He should use the time to gain rythm. He will destroy Wilder in the rematch anyway. Next fight for Fury in September/October. I think it could be somebody like Charles Martin.
I felt like fury got so much buzz from the wilder fight and blew it by taking so long to fight and doing it on an app and not on American TV Wilder scored a memorable 12th round knockdown and enough casuals cried long count and followed it with a huge first round KO For basically losing to Fury I feel like Wilder has won the battle of public opinion since
I do wonder why someone who is not long for this world is still infatuated with money. Surely he should be relaxing and enjoying the short time he has left.
