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Bob Arum: Tyson Fury was unknown in the U.S., now everybody knows who he is

Tyson Fury holds court for the media and fans during a public workout. Photo by Mikey Williams / TOP RANK
Fighters Network
10
Sep

Bob Arum said Tyson Fury is making a dent in America, but that it will not be done overnight.

The charismatic English heavyweight has his second consecutive fight in Las Vegas on Saturday and Arum said it’s a work in progress.

Bob Arum says Fury is a special individual in and out of the ring. Photo by Mikey Williams / TOP RANK

“People are really taking to him because he is such a character and he’s a lot more well known,” Bob said, comparing Fury’s status in the U.S. now to his pre-Deontay Wilder days. “How popular he is remains to be seen. It’s like the public seems to be reacting well to him but again, it’s a process. Some people turned off him, some are fascinated with him and see him as a great performer.

“He did a good job [against Wilder] but he was unknown. Now everybody knows who Tyson Fury is and that’ll help make the Wilder fight the huge fight that it should be.”



Arum, who has worked with a string of top heavyweights and elite fighters during a lifetime in the sport, believes Fury has something special.

“He’s very, very smart,” Arum continued. “In other words, you don’t have to tell him what to say. You don’t have to tell him that he’s got to be fan friendly. You just make things available for him and he knows what to do with them.”

Some, however, have criticised the choice of Otto Wallin as an opponent and Arum said there were only slim-pickings.

“The one criteria Tyson had was that we match him with a tall guy because Wilder is so tall. “So we looked around and Wallin was the best guy available. There aren’t that many big, tall guys around who weren’t out there, [ready] there and then. So we got an undefeated Swedish guy who knows how to fight, we watched him and he’s capable of giving Tyson a good fight.”

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