Jorge Capetillo, Tyson Fury's cut-man, says the WBC champion's team and the team behind Deontay Wilder have not given up hope of getting the third championship bout between the two heavyweights done this year.
Promoter Bob Arum recently outlined his hopes the bout would land in Las Vegas on Dec. 19, only to later provide an update that this specific date was off.
Those involved reportedly view selling tickets to the fight as a must, but almost all live boxing events staged since the COVID-19 pandemic shut the sport down for several months have taken place in empty arenas or TV studios.
In an interview with Marc Gatford of MyBettingSites.co.uk, Capetillo revealed the third fight's current progress.
"I think they're working on a December date but they need people," he explained. "They sold a lot of tickets last time, 18 million dollars of tickets at the MGM. The teams are negotiating with ESPN and, hopefully, they'll get a deal for December.
"From what I heard, it's going to be here in Vegas, so they may postpone it to early next year. They are working on the fight for December, but if not, they'll postpone it to early next year."
Although Fury ended Wilder's unbeaten record in their second fight with an impressive seventh-round finish, Capetillo says the Fury team view the American's attempt to regain his belt as a tougher battle than the proposed next step: a 2021 showdown with WBA (Super), WBO and IBF titleholder Anthony Joshua.
"I think Wilder is tougher because of his natural power and his record shows this," continued Capetillo. "If you have 42 knockouts that's something you don't see every day, so with all due respect, we got to be more aware of Wilder than Anthony. I think Anthony is a great fighter, a great kid, a great human being but I think Tyson Fury is way too much for him. Fury is a complete fighter; he'll box you, he can stand with you toe to toe, he will be knocked down and won't quit, he'll keep getting up. All of those experiences make Tyson a better man, a better fighter — he's the better fighter."
Capetillo didn't want to discredit Joshua's skills but simply believes that Fury's ring intelligence is far superior to that of the unified champion.
"Anthony is a fighter that you have to be in front of for him to land, I don't see too much creativity; feinting, using the jab more, head movement, knowing how to use the range and distance, using the ring," he said. "Their IQ is different; their whole IQ is different. Anthony is a strong man that will come after you like he did with Andy but with Tyson it will be a different fight. Tyson is the best fighter of this era and the heavyweight division and he proved it.
"In the heavyweight division, we are only one punch away from a KO. And if he did what he did to Wilder he can do it against Anthony, against anyone."
Capetillo also detailed how Fury stepped in to help him out when the pandemic and a robbery led to some hard times.
He explained: "Tyson noticed that Jesse's (Vargas) fight was canceled, so he messaged me to say 'hey, how are you doing?' So I told him that we were robbed and our luck was down, so he told me 'oh, don't worry about it — let me send you some money, so that your family is well.'
"He's always texting me asking if we ever need anything. He's the peoples champ. He's becoming a great man, a humble man, a great father and a great son. It's beautiful to be around him."