Months after waiting out an arbitration ruling to determine their future, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury needed mere days to sign up for their third fight.
England’s Fury made the 5 ½ hour flight from Miami to Las Vegas to take in a night at the fights, but also to tend to business of his own. The reigning lineal and WBC heavyweight champion put pen to paper for a contractually bound third showdown with Alabama’s Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs). The pair of hulking heavyweights will meet July 24 at a venue to be determined in Las Vegas, with Allegiant Stadium—home to the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders—as the frontrunner to land the event.
“I just signed the Deontay Wilder contract,” Fury exclaimed while crashing the ESPN broadcast during network coverage of Josh Taylor’s undisputed junior welterweight championship win over Jose Ramirez. “Bitch, you’re getting knocked out.”
Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs) signed an agreement upon arriving on site Saturday afternoon. Video footage captured the moment, with the same agreement showing that Wilder signed Thursday.
The heavyweight championship fight came back into play after months of arbitration which was settled last Monday. Retired judge Daniel Weinstein—who oversaw the case—determined that Fury was legally bound to the clause in the contract from their February 2020 rematch which called for the losing fighter to call for a third fight. Fury won the bout by 7th round knockout atop a joint ESPN+/Fox Sports Pay-Per-View event from MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with Wilder exercising the clause roughly one week later.
The coronavirus pandemic forced two confirmed fight dates, with the fight becoming a legal issue after varying takes on why the two weren’t able to meet last December.
Fury was previously linked to an undisputed championship showdown with countryman Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22KOs), with a deal reportedly in place for August 14 in Saudi Arabia. Such a deal was reportedly contingent upon arbitration resulting in any way other than Fury having to once again face Wider—against whom he is 1-0-1 as the two fought to a draw in Dec. 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
The world will have to wait a little longer to crown its first undisputed heavyweight champion in more than 20 years. The fallout resulted in the WBO ordering Joshua to next defend versus mandatory contender Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13KOs), with the bout subject to a purse bid hearing should they not reach terms by the end of May.
Fury remains optimistic of his 2021 campaign still ending with that dream fight, though he first has to once again dance with Wilder. Neither has fought since their February 2020 meet, though Fury remains confident of a repeat ending.
“I think he’ll give a good roll of the dice,” notes Fury. “He got absolutely dismantled and smashed in his last fight. He wants to get in there with me again. He’s either crazy or he’s a sucker for punishment.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
