FURY’S DECEMBER DATE WITH WILDER
Tyson FURy’s world heavyweight championship fight against Deontay Wilder is now scheduled to take place in Las Vegas early this December.
The official launch of the trans- Atlantic battle for Wilder’s WBC belt and Fury’s lineal title is expected in Vegas before or after the rematch there on saturday week between Gennady Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez.
Fury and Wilder pledged to fight each other when they posed in the ring in Belfast (right) after Fury’s second comeback win, over Francesco Pianeta.
Doubts had been raised about such a dangerous fight against knockout puncher Wilder coming too soon for Fury upon his return from a near two-year absence from the ring.
But the Manchester giant is adamant he will be ready. ‘The fight is about to be announced,’ Fury said on social media yesterday. ‘Training is going fantastic. I’m the most motivated ever.’
Wilder chimed in: ‘We’re going to Vegas.’
new york interest in staging the fight — from Madison square Garden and the new Barclays Center — was strong but the MGM offer from Las Vegas is believed to have won the bidding. The timing of the announcement will aim another barb from team Wilder at Anthony Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn, as Joshua approaches the defence of his WBA, IBF, WBo and IBo heavyweight belts against Alexander Povetkin at Wembley on september 22.
Wilder, who has accused Joshua of ducking a unification fight when he spurned a $50million bid from America and then offered him only a flat $15m in return to box in London, said: ‘neither he nor Eddie wanted the fight. now me and Fury are in the biggest fight of all.’
Hearn and a Us sports network boxing reporter have claimed that ‘a source’ close to Fury told them he is ‘baulking’ at the fight. Fury replied: ‘nonsense. I ain’t pulling out of nothing. I’m coming to get Wilder in his own backyard.’
Joshua alleges that finance is the only motivation for Fury and Wilder to meet. He said: ‘It’s just a money grab by Tyson, and Deontay is hoping that the win he expects he can get while Tyson is rusty will give him a better negotiating position for fighting me in April.’
That is when Hearn has rebooked Wembley for Joshua’s fight after his probable victory over Povetkin.
Fury promoter Frank Warren is on record as saying he had sight of team Wilder’s offer to Joshua and that it went even further than the initial $50m, by offering an additional $30m for a rematch.
now Wilder’s promoter shelly Finkel has indicated that there is a provisional clause for a Fury rematch.
Thus Joshua could find himself kept waiting late into next year or beyond for a chance to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis and only the second since Mike Tyson.
Wilder v Fury is live on BT Sports Box Office in December.