TV deals Tyson out of rematch
PROMOTER Frank Warren has revealed Tyson Fury’s new lucrative TV deal with ESPN is the reason why he will not fight Deontay Wilder in a rematch next.
M.E.N. Sport reported yesterday that the WBC – whose belt American Wilder holds – had announced that the rematch would not be the Manchester fighter’s next bout.
It looked like the deal had already been done for the two men, who fought out a controversial draw in Los Angeles in December, to meet again.
But Warren revealed Fury needs a warm-up bout as part of his deal with the US broadcaster first.
However, the promoter added that the rematch will then hopefully take place in the autumn.
“ESPN are insisting that he has a fight on there before he fights Wilder,” he said.
“(It) will give him bigger exposure, and thus make pay-per-view a bigger attraction when they do the payper-view.
“Tyson wanted the fight (with Wilder). I certainly wanted it.
“A little bit disappointed in some ways, but that’s the decision they’ve made.”
Meanwhile, 30-year-old Fury, who will receive a reported £80m fee for the five-fight deal, has been involved in a heated Twitter exchange with Wilder.
“My team offered to do you a favour, pay you better and build your name,” Fury told the 33-yearold, adding that he has “taken over the USA”.
There were fears when Fury signed the deal with ESPN that it could make talks with WBC champion Wilder more difficult, as he fights on the rival Showtime network.
“The TV companies, they’ve got to sell to the public these fights, and if these guys are all fighting B grade or C grade opponents, then they’ll not going to sell,” added Warren.
“So they’ve got to make it work, we’ve got to make it work between all of us, to find out who’s the best out of these three guys.”
Meanwhile, Manchester boxer Macaulay McGowan is planning to gatecrash the super-welterweight division after targeting a shot at the British title in the near future.
McGowan (12-0-1) fights for the first time since September 2017 when he competes live on iFL TV at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre on March 15, and he’s looking to make a statement and target big things following his long-awaited return.
McGowan said: “I’m going to dust the cobwebs off in this fight, and then I want to get my name in the hat to fight for a British title.
“Some people might think I haven’t got much substance to say that after 18 months out of the ring and only doing eight rounders so far in my career, but that’s my aim.
“I really want to win the British title and by the end of the year I want to be in the mix to fight for it.
“You have Ted Cheeseman who is the champion, and then guys like JJ Metcalf and Anthony Fowler, and I want to be among them.”