The Saudi Arabians are tabling a gigantic bid for TYSON FURY’S next fight, be it a second rematch with DEONTAY WILDER or a British bonanza against ANTHONY JOSHUA.
Four members of the Saudi royal family sat incognito at ringside here on Saturday night as Fury transformed not only himself with a phenomenal crushing of the biggest puncher in ring history but also the entire landscape of heavyweight boxing.
The Saudi party dressed in Western fashion was led by PRINCE KHALED, which will alarm JOSHUA’S promoter EDDIE HEARN.
It was with this high-ranking dignitary that he collaborated on AJ’s vastly enriching December rematch with ANDY RUIZ JR in Riyadh.
KHALED, who is delegated by Crown PRINCE MOHAMMED BIN SALMAN to bring to Saudi Arabia the major sports events, which can polish the nation’s troubled human rights image.
They consider nothing and no-one bigger now than the Gypsy King, who not only established himself as the pre-eminent heavyweight in the world today with the outstanding performance overseas by any British fighter in history but also reaffirmed his reputation as the ring’s great entertainer.
The Saudis were given a preview of Fury the showman when he made a pilot appearance in WWE wrestling in Riyadh before Christmas and it seems not to matter to them whoever Fury fights, nor in what order.
He is seen as the key to unlocking a floodgate of international tourism.
Joshua banked $85 million for regaining his collection of belts from RUIZ in a temporary arena there.
Now they envisage a series of fights for FURY in the national stadium, the first in October, which could make him rich beyond the dreams of Croesus.
Who against? Well, Wilder expects it to be him. The Bronze Bomber said on Monday night he will trigger a rematch clause for the final part of a trilogy against Fury this summer.
‘The rematch is definitely going to happen,’ Wilder told The Athletic. ‘We’re going to get it on. I want to get right back to it.’
The man from Tuscaloosa is a proud warrior and regards himself as fighting for the honour of black America. Also, if he doesn’t meet FURY again he will be left bereft of a major fight.
FURY expects the Bronze Bomber to gird himself for another battle. He is talking of their second rematch taking place at the newly constructed football stadium here, which is soon to be home to the relocated Angeles Raiders.
That is improbable since the overwhelming manner of FURY’S victory will inevitably reduce the US public’s box office appetite for a third fight. We all know the result already.
FURY’S co-promoter FRANK WARREN says: ‘We are receiving loads of offers for Fury. It could be back here but whether it’s Wilder or Joshua it would be huge back in London. Whoever, Tyson is now very much the A-side, the world’s No 1 attraction. We are way past all that nonsense about Joshua wanting 65 or 70 per cent of the purse. If anything, it’s the other way around now.
‘Whether AJ will even want to take the fight, we don’t know. What he does know is that he would get knocked out even harder than Wilder now that Tyson has changed his style” He said.
