Boxing: Muhammad Ali Would Struggle Against Tyson Fury In Virtual Fight, Says Promoter

Veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum made a surprising prediction on a virtual bout between Tyson Fury and Muhammad Ali. Pointing out the apparent physical advantages, the 88-year-old executive boldly claimed the Gypsy King would simply boss around "The Greatest".

Arum currently serves as Fury's promoter as he did for Ali in the past. But despite witnessing arguably the greatest boxer of all time during his heyday, the Top Rank Promotions founder said Fury's size and skillset would simply overwhelm the undersized heavyweight.

“I look at Ali, I look at Foreman when he won the title when he was 45, I look at Fury. How would Ali have done with Fury? That’s a question I wrestle with” Arum told Sky Sports.

“The Ali before the three-and-a-half years out was absolutely superb. Nobody could touch him, he was so fast. Ali was 6'3 and the guys he fought were about the same size. How would he do against a 6'9 guy who is an incredible boxer with great footwork?" he continued.

“I can’t see Ali competing with a 6'9 guy like Fury. We had big guys in the old days but they were slow, lumbering. They were jokes who couldn’t fight, they were just big. It’s all changing. Look at Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder. They are huge guys. But maybe if Ali was in this era he would be 6’6 instead of 6’3 because of the nutrition. Everything has changed.”

Perhaps Arum is just building up the hype as camps are reportedly at the early stages of talks for a potential unification fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua.

But even before the chatters of the all-British mega bout begin, Fury was pitted for a trilogy match against Deontay Wilder initially set late this year. Arum, however, bared that the staging of the said fight will not take place until 2021.

“Obviously, we cannot do Fury and Wilder without an audience. If you are going to do it with an audience, are people going to be willing to get on a plane and come to Las Vegas? So many of the fans come from the UK. A lot of that has to be taken into account. Maybe it doesn’t happen until next year,” Arum said.

Fury asserted his mastery over the Bronze Bomber in their rematch in February to nab the WBC belt. Save for the first fight which resulted in a controversial draw, the British champion stays unscathed while boasting 20 victories via KO.