Bob Arum: Tyson Fury Fight Will Get More ESPN+ Subscribers Than UFC
Top Rank Boxing promoter Bob Arum expects a lot of new subscribers on ESPN+ for Tyson Fury’s fight against Tom Schwarz.
Fury returns to action on June 15 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas when he takes on the undefeated German prospect in a heavyweight match-up. It will be the Briton’s debut fight on ESPN+ since signing a lucrative deal with the sports network in February. ESPN+ was already bolstered with the addition of the UFC earlier this year.
UFC on ESPN+ 1, which featured a flyweight title fight between Henry Cejudo and TJ Dillashaw earlier this year, generated 568,000 new subscribers for the platform on the weekend of the event. But Arum, who has had a tumultuous relationship with the UFC, expects Fury to generate even more new subscribers:
“This weekend’s event is very important for boxing,” Arum said (via BoxingScene). “Look, even though the UFC are cousins of ours at ESPN, they are still competition. They’ve done extraordinarily well and ESPN had the announcement of their big subscription boost right out of the gate. With Tyson Fury coming up on June 15, we’re gonna get more new subscribers than they did with their debut in January.”
Arum Heaps Praise On Fury
It would truly be something if Fury is able to generate even more subscribers than the UFC did back in January. But such is the confidence in him from Arum, who believes the Top Rank/ESPN banner has another special fighter under its stable:
“I’ve had some guys who were not shy, fighters such as Muhammad Ali and George Foreman,” Arum added. “(Fury) is right up with there with those two guys. People can relate to him. I’ve never seen an outpouring of fans like we have right now who root for Tyson Fury.
“People look at the heavyweight division. We have great fighters on ESPN – two of the best in Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford and Vasyl Lomachenko. He has the ability to capture the imagination. That’s what we hope to accomplish with him. This guy is a force in and of himself in and out of the ring.”
