Tyson tipped to punch his weight in digital boom

Not only is tyson Fury bearing the brunt of selling Saturday’s fight against Deontay Wilder to American ticket buyers and pay-tV subscribers around the world, but he is also in the vanguard of a digital revolution which can revive big-time boxing, says his US promoter Bob Arum. Fury’s soaring popularity in America has convinced Arum that they will fill at least 16,000 of the 20,000 seats this weekend, even without his UK fans being allowed to travel here. But it is the long-term focus on digital which Arum believes will bring new generations of fans to boxing. the sport is under a two-pronged attack; one from cage-fighting, the second by the craze for internet celebrities with no ring pedigree to take on each other or ring legends such as Floyd Mayweather. ‘We can’t ignore how our world is changing,’ Arum, 89, told Sportsmail. ‘If Floyd made a hundred million bucks from fighting one of those Paul brothers (Youtuber Logan Paul), we have to adapt. the celebrity boxing phenomenon is selling itself on Instagram and Youtube. there is space for boxing out there, too, for us to sell the genuine article. With tyson’s character as well as his fights here and the house he has bought in Vegas, tyson has been taken to by Americans as one of us. He is very active on Instagram and attracts massive interest. He’s the one driving change for how we sell boxing. ‘We are reaching younger and younger fans by targeting them on social media.’ n DAVID PrIce, the former British and commonwealth heavyweight champion, confirmed last night he has retired from boxing. the Liverpudlian, 38, has not fought since losing to Derek chisora in 2019 and ends with a record of 25 wins, including 20 knockouts, and seven losses.