Bob Arum believes that the fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could be the most lucrative heavyweight boxing event ever.
The pair are set to agree to a deal that will see them fight twice in a unification fight, at least one of which could offer the chance to become the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.
Contracts have been exchanged between the various parties, with one of the few details left to be ironed out being the venue for the first fight. The United Kingdom has all but been ruled out due to the financial impact and restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
The Middle East, Far East, Saudi Arabia and China in particular are all under consideration as areas that could offer up huge financial incentives to host the bout.
In conjunction with pay-per-view revenues and other commercial tie-ups, that could lead to a spectacle worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
Arum, Fury’s co-promoter, told the 3 Knockdown Rule podcast that a venue fee will be a large chunk of the income generated.
“There will be a substantial site fee, if it’s done outside of the UK and US,” he said.
“It will probably be the biggest money fight in heavyweight boxing history.
“There’s all professionals working on it, and it’ll be massive.
“You can’t count your chickens before they hatch, but I am optimistic of how well this fight will do – both from the site standpoint and the pay-per-view standpoint.
“Particularly in the UK, where we think we’ll do over two million homes.”
Any fight could potentially rival the sums generated by the Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather fight, which earned McGregor a minimum guaranteed purse of $30 million and $100 million for Mayweather, though the final sums earned are believed to be well in excess of those figures.