Tyson Fury will follow Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in leading boxing into “a new dimension”, says American hall-of-fame promoter Bob Arum.
The legend is promoting Fury, former world champion, and preparing him for his bout with Germany’s Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“I recognised a larger-than-life character who reminded me of Ali and Foreman, both of whom I promoted”, Arum told BBC.
“So he will be a major, major star, not just in boxing but in the US.”
Practice offence and defence into it becomes like a smooth dance 🕺 pic.twitter.com/wFY5LHHqNI
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) June 12, 2019
“Tyson’s going to lead this sport into a new dimension, just the way Ali did in his time, and then later George”, said Arum.
“They were athletes who could resonate with the public, communicate with the public and endear themselves to the public. He is just that kind of personality – larger than life, intelligent, very articulate and he has interesting back story.”
Arum has been involved in boxing for over 50 years and has worked with the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Marvin Hagler, Roberto Duran, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar de la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao.
“He reminds me a lot of the early Ali. I haven’t seen a boxer in the division as tall and big, who was that light on his feet in years. Now that he has slimmed down and is in great shape I think he is by far the best heavyweight in the world.”
“We promoted almost all of Ruiz’s fights”, said Arum. “He’s a fairly good heavyweight, has fast hands, can box and takes a good punch but he can’t knock me out.”
Only Tyson Fury could get away with a face off like this 😂
It's hard to think these two will be trying to knock each other out on Saturday night… 😆 #FurySchwarz pic.twitter.com/NPY3nafIol
— Boxing on BT Sport 🥊 (@BTSportBoxing) June 12, 2019
“We had him in with third- and fourth-level heavyweights that he never knocked out. For him to beat Joshua, there was a different Anthony Joshua.”
“I don’t know if it is so smart to put him back in with Ruiz. As an athlete you remember being knocked down four times to the ground. I would put him in with other guys, build him back up, restore his confidence and then put him back in with Ruiz.”
