8: 51 PM ET
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Mike CoppingerESPN
The top most likely heavyweight bout of the summer has been postponed. Tyson Fury has examined certain for COVID-19 and his bout in opposition to Deontay Wilder will be rescheduled for later this year, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The fight changed into firstly scheduled for July 24 at T-Cell Area in Las Vegas, with the published on both Fox and ESPN+ pay-per-view. Sources told ESPN that Oct. 9 is the brand new focused date with the Manny Pacquiao-Errol Spence Jr. PPV on Aug. 21, and Canelo Alvarez scheduled to fight within the 2d or third week of September. The fight will aloof be staged at T-Cell Area.
Sources stated multiple folks in Fury’s camp have examined certain. Fury is seemingly to return to England and within the ruin reach serve to the United States for camp when the time is lawful.
“It changed into a crazy roller coaster toward this fight,” Fury stated within the ruin month’s news convention in Los Angeles to promote the fight. “I constantly reveal, ‘You’re by no method scuffling with any individual till you are within the ring reverse them.'”
Fury and Wilder have already met twice. The first fight came in December 2018 and ended in a disputed diagram. Regardless of Fury suffering two knockdowns — in conjunction with one within the closing spherical — most observers believed he deserved the nod.
The “Gypsy King” left no question within the rematch in February 2020, scoring two knockdowns himself en path to a seventh-spherical stoppage after Wilder’s cornerman, Mark Breland, threw within the towel.
Neither Fury, 32, nor Wilder has regarded within the ring since. Wilder, 35, exercised his contractual lawful to a third fight later on, however the pandemic prevented Top Despicable (Fury’s promoter) and PBC from staging the fight sooner than a fleshy viewers.
The gate for the 2d bout generated $16,916,440 — a Nevada narrative for a heavyweight title fight. The pay-per-view, priced at $79.99, raked in almost 900,000 buys, sources told ESPN.
Top Despicable and PBC attempted to stage the bout closing December after a previously planned October date changed into deemed unfeasible attributable to COVID-19 restrictions, however the surprising resumption of the college soccer season left few accessible PPV dates within the closing month of 2020 with two networks alive to.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) and his team then view concerning the rematch clause expired and pushed forward with negotiations for a megafight with fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua, which would crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. The perimeters agreed to a deal in Could per chance maybe maybe also, with Fury announcing on Could per chance maybe maybe also 16 the fight would take website Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia.
In the background, an honest arbitrator, Daniel Weinstein, changed into determining whether Fury certainly owed Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) a third fight. Top Despicable chairman Bob Arum changed into deposed, as changed into his stepson, Top Despicable president Todd duBoef. So, too, were PBC founder Al Haymon, Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel and PBC govt Bruce Binkow. Fury and Wilder also gave depositions.
On Could per chance maybe maybe also 17, someday after Fury launched he would meet Joshua in August, Weinstein dominated that he owed Wilder yet another fight.
“I didn’t feel any manner about Fury trying to negotiate yet another fight,” Wilder stated at the news convention closing month in Los Angeles. “We knew we were within the lawful and we knew they would no longer urge.”
Now Wilder will have to wait a little bit of longer for that likelihood at revenge.
Fury’s certain test changed into first reported by Dan Rafael.
