Bob Arum Wants to Run Boxing Fights in WWE Performance Center

WWE has gotten permission to hold their shows at the WWE Performance Center as an “essential buiness,” and now boxing promoter Bob Arum would like to use the facility too. Arum spoke with ESPN and said that he’s looking at the possibility of holding boxing events using WWE’s facilities over the summer in the wake of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis classifying the wrestling company as an essential business.

“It’s very, very interesting, and we’re going to be in touch with them,” Arum said. “There’s a possibility to use their facility to maybe do events without a crowd.”

Arum noted that he’s talked about the idea with Top Rank head Todd duBoef, noting, “We’re very close with Vince [McMahon] and the WWE. So let’s see, but we’re still not talking before June … But it all depends, the whole reopening of the country, the different states, it all comes down to the same thing — testing, adequate testing. You cannot open it and have athletes compete against each other with referees, the judges, with camera people, unless you can ensure that it’s safe, and the only way you can ensure that it’s safe is with testing. It comes down to testing.”

The fights would not be major bouts that would potentially be draws for significant crowds, saying, “Those are either going to have to wait till you have spectators, or if the fighters get antsy, they will have to deal with an adjustment in their purses because you will have cut off an important revenue source from the event. For example, [Tyson] Fury and [Deontay] Wilder, the gate was close to $17 million, and that’s from the public buying tickets to the fight,” he said. “How do you replace that? Well, if you don’t replace it — then somebody has to eat that.”