Top Rank’s chairman and boxing promoter Bob Arum revealed that WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury did not have both his vaccinations against COVID-19.
Fury had received one vaccination shot, but decided against having the second, as he was concerned about having a reaction that would force him to miss training camp time.
Subsequently, ‘The Gypsy King’ ended up getting COVID-19, testing positive on July 5, which led to the announcement of the anticipated match with Deontay Wilder being pushed back from July 24 to October 9.
Speaking to WBN, Arum said:
“They told me he was vaccinated. I assumed it was two shots. Who gets vaccinated and doesn’t get their second shot?
“I never knew that he hadn’t (gotten the second one) until he got sick. I really screamed at all of them.
“The people in the gym, I mean, we had no controls. It was like every sparring partner brought his friend, other corner people.
“SugarHill (Steward) had these Russians he trains running around. There was absolutely no precaution taken, which a lot of it was our fault. We should have been the adults in the room.”
While Fury did not complete his round of vaccinations, Wilder and his immediate team did at the insistence of his management, even though they were initially reluctant.
Arum said: “They did the right thing, and they’re to be commended, and we didn’t do the right thing.”
In addition, Arum also hit back at rival promoter Eddie Hearn’s comments regarding the fight being pushed back due to slow ticket sales. He said:
“All those people on social media who said, ‘hey, it was because of slow ticket sales,’ — yeah, slow ticket sales.
“We had $15 million in the bank from ticket sales. This is not like a fighter pulls out because his shoulder hurts. Bicep hurts. There, there might be room for suspicion.”
Fury is currently with his pregnant wife Paris back in the UK, who is due to give birth before the WBC Champion will restart his training for the rescheduled bout.