Tyson Fury will be fighting an exhibition match against strong man, weight lifter, and boxer Hafthor ‘Thor’ Bjornsson in November in a stadium fight in London.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury (32-0-, 23 KOs) told the Telegraph that he hopes 70,000 fans will turn up to watch him fight the 33-year-old Thor Bjornsson. That’s an ambitious number for a fight that is a mismatch, and it’s unclear if it’ll do even 15,000.
It’s a given that Fury vs. Bjornsson will be shown on pay-per-view, and it’s going to be hilarious if it fails to bring in more than a handful of buys.
This exhibition will probably be a massive failure if the promoters try and peddle it to U.S boxing fans for an $80 price tag. A fight like that only makes sense if it’s for free and if it’s packaged with a professional wrestling card.
Americans aren’t going to buy this garbage because they know better. They know a rip-off when they see one. Maybe Fury’s fans in the UK will purchase it in huge numbers, but not U.S fans.
With Fury holding the WBC title hostage, choosing to take exhibition fights rather than defending it against the top contenders, the World Boxing Council should stand up on their hindlegs and strip him of his belt rather than letting him freeze his belt for a money-grab.
Fury isn’t saying whether the admission to the event will be for free or not, as he’s been talking about fighting Anthony Joshua for free. That’s not likely to be the case.
“It’d be great to get in there in front of 70,000 fans and show him what boxing is all about. Make him miss and knock him out,” said Fury to The Telegraph.
It’s disappointing that Fury, 33, is following the Floyd Mayweather Jr route by grabbing money fighting non-boxers in circus events. It’s believed that Fury is waiting to cash out against the Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk II rematch winner.
Some people believe that Deontay Wilder took away Fury’s hunger to fight talented opposition after he knocked him down four times in their three fights and was robbed of 2 KO victories. Wilder knocked Fury out in the 12th round in their first fight and the fourth round in their trilogy match.
After the punishment Wilder dished out in his three fights with Fury, the ‘Gypsy King’ doesn’t want it anymore. He’s looking for each exhibition matches against the old-looking Thor and UFC fighter Francis Ngannou. After Fury’s exhibition against Thorm, which will be a joke, he’ll fight the Joshua-Usyk 2 winner, as long as it’s AJ that comes out on top.