By Miguel Rivera
The president of the World Boxing Council, Mauricio Sulaiman, celebrated the agreement that was reached for the showdown between WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder and challenger Tyson Fury.
According to Sulaiman, the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO unified champion Anthony Joshua had everything in place to finalize a deal with Wilder - but allowed it to slip through his fingers.
The bout between Wilder and Fury was revealed last Saturday night in Belfast, as both boxers confirmed that a deal was finalized for this fall - likely on a Showtime Pay-Per-View date in November in Las Vegas.
For months, there were serious negotiations to make a fight between Wilder and Joshua - but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on the monetary terms.
Wilder's side had offered up a deal that guaranteed $50 million to Joshua to make the fight in the United States, and Joshua's side countered back with a flat fee of $15 million to stage the contest in the UK - which Wilder felt was a lowball offer.
Joshua will now face WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin on September 22nd at Wembley in London.
Sulaiman is very excited about the Wilder vs. Fury showdown. He views Fury as a very serious and dangerous opponent for Wilder.
"Tyson Fury is a boxer who has important credentials, he beat Wladimir Klitschko categorically. He had problems, he has already returned to boxing. He's a tall, strong, technical boxer.... he holds, hits, and makes the most spectacular fights. Anthony Joshua had the opportunity but he let it go, there were very bad negotiations. Fury has come out and it will be a great fight," said Sulaiman to ESPN Deportes.
"It's a great year for boxing, the WBC is going through a great moment, and there is still a lot to do - but what is happening in the ring is exciting."
