Where will Fury-Wilder 3 be held? Mike Altamura reveals all
MTK Globals' International Consultant, Mike Altamura, has revealed the two locations that are frontrunners to host Fury-Wilder 3.
Former Aussie fighter Mike is an expert on boxing markets in different regions, having been instrumental in securing his previous fights, as well as being heavily involved in all future engagements, including the dights with Anthony Joshua.
In a recent interview with PressBoxPR he said that China (Macau) and Australia are well in the mix to rival Vegas, while also reiterating that the Trilogy must be completed in the latter end 2020 in order to make the AJ fight happen in 2021.
What locations are currently being discussed?
Mike Altamura: "We have been in constant discussions with our promoter Bob Arum and right now the prominent sites are Macau and Las Vegas – they've been discussing running the event at Allegiance Stadium, the new home of The Raiders. Kind of like a scaled-back event because they still have to figure out the capacity. And there is also the exciting proposition of the event coming to Sydney, Australia.
"I would say Australia is a slight outsider. I think Macau is looking pretty promising, and from what I understand Las Vegas is too."
When will it take place?
"Late 2020 is the target, so probably November or December period, I can't see the fight shifting in 2021 because ideally we'd want to keep 2021 free to explore the Anthony Joshua possibilities once Tyson Fury has handled his obligations, but we are no way underestimating the challenge that is Deontay Wilder."
Why Macau?
"There's so much positive business history between Top Rank and the sites in Macau, particularly The Venetian casino, so it would be open and shut in regards to what the site fee would be. And then it's just weighing up what time the event would ideally be hosted to allow for optimal revenue for PPV streams around the world, so that's why Macau makes sense, but it's still very early days."
Why Sydney?
"The talks have been relatively advanced between Top Rank and D&L. D&L previously hosted the Manny Pacquiao and Jeff Horn bout, so they've had quite a bit of success in relation to drawing government grants, securing funding from the tourism sector, so we've just got to weigh up the options.
"If you look at the Horn-Pacquiao event in Australia, and you look at the investment from the government, and then also the tourism, and the stimulation in the economy it provided, there are a lot of upsides in bringing the biggest events in the world to Australia."
Why would the fight not take place at Las Vegas, as expected?
"With Las Vegas, for example, that wouldn't be full capacity from what I understand. I'm not sure if Vegas would be a 10,000 person cap, or what the numbers would be, but it would have to be something that would logistically work for Top Rank to promote the fight."
Barry Hearn recently made some comments that indicated a lack of confidence in the Fury-Wilder trilogy taking place this year – what do you say in response to that?
"In the times we are currently dealing with, there are so many different factors that are affected, but there's a reason why Top Rank has been at the absolute elite of the sport for 50 years now, that's because they dot all the Is and cross the Ts. Part of the process right now is exploring the best possible options. We are very confident that when those options are put on the table, the deal will be satisfying for all parties. In regards to Barry Hearn's comments, we have full confidence in our promoter Top Rank being able to secure the necessary deals."
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