A third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder felt inevitable, and shortly after the fight (which saw Wilder’s corner throw in the towel after a dominant Fury performance), Wilder guaranteed it would happen by exercising a rematch clause.
Then, obviously, the entire world changed, and it was fair to wonder when a fight could even take place. It’s now been scheduled, but it’s not going to be for a while.
Breaking: Sources tell The Athletic that Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are slated to meet again Oct. 3 in Las Vegas in an ESPN/FOX PPV. Details inside on the heavyweight championship trilogy bout (and no, this fight isn’t “moving” because of the pandemic)https://t.co/wZqkQYUGgE
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) March 26, 2020
As with their previous meeting, the pay-per-view will be a joint production between ESPN and Fox Sports, with both companies apparently satisfied with how things went the first time. That’s a big deal, as we wrote then:
When Tyson Fury signed a deal with Top Rank earlier in 2019, it blew up any immediate hope for a heavyweight championship rematch with Deontay Wilder. That was a surprise, considering their entertaining draw bout in December of 2018 seemed like an easy choice to run back.
But Top Rank has a deal with ESPN, while Wilder’s PBC is partnered up with Fox Sports. That meant any rematch would have to overcome not only the usual hemming and hawing associated with boxing matchmaking, but also somehow find a way to make both network competitors happy.
It also enabled the fight to get a massive promotional push across both families of networks in the weeks leading up to it, which is what we’ll surely see this fall. Or rather, what we’ll hopefully see this fall; if we’re in a position to see a month of Fury-Wilder 3 ads, it means things are probably a lot more normal in the sports world, and the world in general.
[The Athletic]
About Jay Rigdon
Jay is a columnist at Awful Announcing. He is not a strong swimmer. He is probably talking to a dog in a silly voice at this very moment.