[ad_1]
Tyson Fury’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder could be BACK ON for spring next year in the US as Gypsy King’s UK homecoming is scrapped – while judge mulls over American’s claims of a contractual right to a rematch
- Tyson Fury’s first defence of his WBC world title in the UK has been abandoned
- Fury was due to fight at Royal Albert Hall on December 5 but that is now off
- The Brit is waiting to find out from a judge if he has to face Deontay Wilder
- Their heavyweight trilogy fight is back in the reckoning for early spring in the US
Tyson Fury’s trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder is back in the reckoning for early spring following cancellation of the Gypsy King’s tick-over world heavyweight title defence on December 5.
Fury’s pre-Christmas UK homecoming at the Royal Albert Hall was officially abandoned on Monday night, along with confirmation that his next fight will be in the US after all.
With Wilder’s claim of a contractual right to a third fight, Fury is now going to legal arbitration in America, meaning the door is now open for their second rematch.
Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury may yet face off again with the trilogy fight set for spring 2021
Fury was set to defend his world title in the UK next month but those plans have been cancelled
That has implications for Anthony Joshua, who has agreed in principle to two world championship unification battles with Fury as the follow up to a December 12 defence of his titles against Kubrat Pulev.
The first of those super–fights has been pencilled in for Wembley in the early part of next year but Joshua may have to turn instead to his Matchroom stablemate Oleksandr Usyk as the opponent then.
With Usyk the former undisputed world cruiserweight champion looking under-sized at heavyweight despite using his sublime skills to beat Dereck Chisora this Halloween, that fight presents less of a risk to Joshua than Wilder to Fury.
Although the Bronze Bomber was brutally stopped by Fury in the seventh round of their second fight in February in Las Vegas, the man from Tuscaloosa still carries in his right hand the threat of that enormous punching power which dropped the Gypsy King twice in Los Angeles 14 months earlier.
A judge will make a decision on Wilder’s claims he has a contractual right to a third fight
Wilder had triggered a rematch clause after being demolished by Fury inside seven rounds
Fury was set to face Germany’s undefeated Agit Kabayel at Royal Albert Hall in his next fight
If Fury or Joshua – or heaven forbid both – were to lose before they finally share a ring, the mega-millions value of their fights would reduce sharply.
Fury is unhappy with the cancellation of his December fight, against undefeated Germany heavyweight Agit Kabayel, and his co-promoter Frank Warren says: ‘Tyson hasn’t been in the ring since defeating Wilder and he really didn’t want to be out for a full year or more and was eager to box again for his home fans. We did everything we could to get December 5 done but between Top Rank (Fury’s American promoters) and ESPN (his US television paymasters) we could not find a way to make it work without fans during the Covid pandemic.
‘ESPN hold the TV contract rights over there to his forthcoming fights so it’s the US next for Tyson in late February or March. Although our priority has always been the big fight with Joshua, ideally that would be in the UK. So we now await the judge’s findings in America with regard to Wilder. That is still a huge fight in its own right.’
Since losing the follow up to the controversial first-fight draw in which Fury rose miraculously semi-conscious from a last round flattening, Wilder has been making all manner of wild excuses and accusations.
Those claims include his mask and costume being too heavy, his right bicep being ruptured, his water being drugged, Fury loading his gloves with weights and being allowed to get away with continuous rabbit-punching.
But on one key issue Wilder has remained consistent: ‘I gave Fury his first chance of fame I then stayed true to my promise to give him a rematch even though the referee robbed me of my knock-out in LA. Now it’s his turn as a man to honour the pledge of giving me a rematch, which was in our contract.’
Bob Arum, boss of Top Rank, claimed that deal expired when Fury-Wilder III was delayed by coronavirus and they had moved on to Kabayel next month with an eye to Joshua soon after. Circumstances are conspiring now to bring the Gypsy King and the Bronze Bomber together once again.
Warren’s Yuletide Special at the Albert Hall will go ahead on BT Sport. The December 5 bill will be topped by Anthony Yarde, in a Commonwealth title challenge to the undefeated Lyndon Arthur, as he bids to continue rebuilding his world championship credentials following solitary defeat by Sergey Kovalev.
Frank Warren said they tried to get the fight made but Fury’s next outing will now be in the US
Fury has a two-fight deal in place to fight his heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua in 2021
[ad_2]
Source link