Matt Rose, the promoter undefeated junior middleweight Tim Tszyu, wants to get back to the negotiating table for the showdown with former WBO welterweight champion Jeff Horn.
They were scheduled to fight last month in Townsville, with the event being postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Rose was impressed by the UFC's ability to stage a pay-per-view event this past Saturdya night in Jacksonville, Florida. The event was held without fans in attendance.
Horn's promoter, Dean Lonergan, would prefer to have both boxers compete inside of a packed stadium.
But at this point Rose wants the fight to happen sooner than later, with or without fans.
"I enjoyed the [UFC] fights. I didn’t think I would and thought it would be hard to watch without crowds. I worried that the fighters themselves might struggle to get into it. But I think they showed that with the best match-ups and good fights, it doesn’t matter whether the crowd is there or not," Rose said to WA Today.
"That’s what made me think about Jeff and Tim. In that case, we’ve got a really good contest, we feel we can win that and they feel the same thing. I honestly think there is a real opportunity for us to come back to the table as soon as possible and start to negotiate something around fighting without a crowd.
"We want to stick to the plan and fight Jeff but, if he isn’t willing, we’ll look at other avenues because we really want to get back in the ring, knowing now there is an opportunity to do that. You never say never with boxing but our plan is to take out Jeff Horn and move on to a world title. For us, the sooner we fight Jeff the better. I want to come straight back to the table for negotiations. That’s why I want to push ahead and get it done whether there is a crowd or not."
At the end of the day, says Lonergan, the overall decision will come down to what Horn and Tszyu want to do. Lonergan says Horn would prefer to find some type of scenario where fans could be present.
"I’m totally relaxed about what format we run this fight in and I think Matt is the same. The two key decision makers in this are Jeff and Tim," Lonergan said to WA Today.
"The Townsville fight with 20,000 people is the equivalent of an Origin in league. The boys are very keen to fight in front of a big crowd. But the reality is, that may or may not happen this year. If you can’t fight in front of a big crowd, maybe there’s a reduced crowd. As restrictions loosen, there might be discussions between all of the parties, including the Queensland government, to see what happens.
"As fight sports start up, the guys will start getting itchy. For us not to do that, to do something a bit different, would take discussions between all parties. The longer this drags out, the more likelihood that would have of happening."