Third Fury-Wilder fight in works before end of 2020
The U.S. promoter of Tyson Fury is hoping to stage a third heavyweight fight between the British boxer and Deontay Wilder by the end of the year, potentially in the Chinese enclave of Macau.
Bob Arum told the Associated Press that Fury “owes” Wilder a third fight after claiming the WBC belt off the American in February. Only then would Fury turn his attention to an all-British fight with Anthony Joshua, the WBA, IBF and WBO titleholder, in early 2021.
“We hope to do that fight in November or December,” Arum, the CEO of Top Rank, said of Fury-Wilder III. “Whether it’s for a full audience or a limited audience in the United States or put it on in Macau, which may be open for full arenas as early as November… we’re exploring all our options.”
Fury-Wilder II, won by Fury on a seventh-round technical knockout Feb. 20, was the last fight Arum promoted before the shutdown of the sport because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Arum will use the same venue, the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, to launch live boxing’s comeback in the United States on Tuesday.
A six-fight card, headlined by WBO featherweight world champion Shakur Stevenson, will kick off a series of twice-weekly events in a hotel ballroom across June and July. The bouts will be staged without fans and media, with the fight announcers based remotely.
NFL memo details return of players
The NFL has outlined the steps teams must take before players can return to training facilities, the latest attempt by the league to return to business as usual in an offseason that has largely been conducted virtually.
Yet while the league claimed the protocols were created in cooperation with the NFL Players Association, the union said it had not agreed to any guidelines.
The dispute cast doubt on the lengthy memo sent to team executives, general managers, head coaches and trainers, which was dated Sunday.
The league’s protocols include everyone wearing masks. There will be dedicated entrances with automated doors for the exclusive use of players and coaches. Whenever possible, teams will conduct virtual meetings, and those that are in-person will take place outdoors in masks. “High touch” surfaces will be professionally cleaned at least three times per day. There will be at least six feet of space between lockers.
Iowa players back amid racial turmoil
Iowa players returned to campus to prepare for voluntary workouts amid an uproar after former Hawkeyes alleged systemic racism and other mistreatment in the program, the team’s strength coach was placed on administrative leave and coach Kirk Ferentz’s leadership was called into question.
About two dozen current players took to social media to voice messages of unity, with several referencing the death of George Floyd and the social unrest in the country. None complained directly about his treatment in the Iowa program.
Dozens of African American players who played at Iowa followed a tweet by Chicago Bears lineman James Daniels about “racial disparities in the Iowa football program” with anecdotes about bullying, racist remarks and other mistreatment while they were at Iowa. Several former players brought up issues they attributed to strength coach Chris Doyle.
Doyle, who earns $800,000 a year and is the highest-paid strength coach in college football, was placed on paid leave Saturday night.
The university is conducting an investigation into the former players’ complaints. Ferentz, the nation’s current coaching leader in tenure at one school at 21 seasons, said he would create an advisory committee to address concerns about the program’s culture.