Boxing set for June 9 return in Las Vegas
It would be the first of a series of fights over the next two months at the MGM Grand
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As coronavirus stay-at-home guidelines begin to ease, some sports are preparing to get back to action.
Boxing is one of them.
Promoter Bob Arum said Thursday he plans to stage a card of five fights on June 9 at the MGM Grand. It would be the first of a series of fights over the next two months at the Las Vegas hotel.
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A second fight card will be held two nights later, with ESPN televising both cards, kicking off twice weekly shows at the hotel in June and July.
However no fans will be allowed.
Arum said fighters and everyone else will be tested at least twice during fight week for coronavirus.
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The fights are pending approval of the Nevada Athletic Commission, which meets next week to consider the events, along with two cards that the UFC plans to stage at its facility in Las Vegas.
FILE - This is an April 6, 2017, file photo showing boxing promoter Bob Arum speaking at a boxing press conference in Oxon Hill, Md. Arum says he plans to stage a card of five fights on June 9 at the MGM Grand. It's the first of a series of fights ov
They are also pending the reopening of the MGM and other Las Vegas hotels, something that is widely expected to happen the first week of June.
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“Once we get those fights in and UFC gets its initial fights in, both of us will ask for additional dates," Arum told The Associated Press. "The key was getting enough testing, and we’ve got plenty of testing in Nevada to hold our events.”
Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya has also talked about returning with a July 4 card, though he has offered no details. UFC returned to action earlier this month with cards in Florida, including a pay-per-view event, that took place without fans.
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While pre-pandemic fights were held in the 16,000-seat MGM Grand Garden, Arum said the fights will be held in a convention area or ballroom at the hotel. There will be no media allowed, at least at the beginning, he said, because of the logistical difficulty of testing more people.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.