Bob Arum baffled by Deontay Wilder’s claim Tyson Fury lied about positive Covid test

Tyson Fury’s promoter, Bob Arum, has criticised Deontay Wilder after the American accused the heavyweight champion of lying about testing positive for Covid-19 to get out of their trilogy fight.

Fury and Wilder face off for the third time in Las Vegas on 9 October but were originally scheduled to meet in July, only for the ‘Gypsy King’ to contract Covid two weeks before the bout.

The Briton looked set to face Anthony Joshua after announcing that a date and location for the fight had been agreed, but was then ordered to face Wilder and complete their trilogy agreement.

Wilder, who suffered the first loss of his career in the pair’s rematch in February 2020, this week accused Fury of making up “lies” and “excuses” in order to avoid their trilogy fight.

“Dude said he had Covid, then the next minute you see him in so many different places. It’s just ridiculous. He’s been trying to run away from me since July of last year,” Wilder said.

Veteran promoter Arum insisted that Fury had followed the correct protocols after contracting Covid and that his positive test and has been independently verified before the fight was postponed.

“I don’t know what [Wilder] believes or what he doesn’t believe,” Arum told BoxingScene.com. “But what he should at least look into is the fact that once Fury got Covid, he immediately contacted the commission, or somebody did, and the commission doctors examined him and diagnosed him with Covid.

“So, what the f*** is Wilder talking about? I mean, it isn’t like a fighter is out and says, ‘I need a postponement because I sprained my leg jogging.’ Then there’s always questions. ‘Was he really hurt?’ Blah, blah, blah.

“But here, it’s something that is completely able to be checked out with the commission. So, why should he believe me, Wilder? He shouldn’t. Why should he believe Fury? If he doesn’t want to, he shouldn’t. But check it out with the commission that has no motive at all to lie.”

Fury is the favourite to defeat Wilder after he secured a seventh-round stoppage in their last meeting, 18 months ago.

The 33-year-old has not fought since, however, with their first bout ending in a spectacular draw in December 2018.