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Deontay Wilder has officially put himself in position to prove that the third time’s the charm.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the former heavyweight titlist has activated the clause in his contract that will call for an immediate third fight with two-time and reigning lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs). The declaration came six days after England’s Fury dominated the previously unbeaten American, scoring a 7th round knockout in their February 22 rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The bout carried a bilateral clause which provided an option for the losing fighter a 30-day window to call for a straightaway third fight. Alabama’s Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs) insisted immediately after his first career defeat that he planned to do so, repeating such intentions on Monday and—as Fury’s co-promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren confirmed to United Kingdom network BT Sport—officially activated the clause on Friday.
Existing language in the contract calls for the third fight to take place by July, although neither a date nor location has been offered for such an event. The rematch was distributed as a joint Pay-Per-View venture between ESPN and Fox Sports, with the same two entities to be intimately with the third fight.
The results of the heavyweight title fight sequel put an end to Wilder’s lengthy reign of more than five years, which began and ended at MGM Grand. The 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist claimed his slice of the heavyweight crown with a 12-round win over Bermane Stiverne in January 2015. The feat marked the first time Wilder was forced to go the distance, though adding Stiverne to his lengthy list of knockout victims with a 1st round knockout in their November 2017 rematch.
Fury remains the lone boxer that Wilder has failed to stop over the course of 11-plus year career. The hulking Brit survived two dramatic late-round knockdowns in their first fight, having otherwise largely outboxed Wilder for most of their December 2018 Showtime PPV headliner which ended in a disputed 12-round split decision draw.
The two were due to rematch, with a targeted time frame of last May. Fury called an audible, instead signing a lucrative multi-fight deal with Top Rank and ESPN+ which resulted in both heavyweights taking on two interim fights.
Wilder added two more knockouts to his highlight reel, destroying mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale in one round last May and a 7th round stoppage of Luis Ortiz last November, nearly 21 months after having stopped the previously unbeaten Miami-based Cuban southpaw in 10 rounds. Fury used that time to acclimate himself to Las Vegas, making his Sin City debut with a 2nd round stoppage of Germany’s Tom Schwarz last June and surviving a hellacious cut to outpoint Sweden’s Otto Wallin last September.
The results of the February 22 rematch restored glory atop the heavyweight division, along with settling a lengthy debate as to the status of the lineal heavyweight championship.
Fury claimed the crown in a November 2015 points win over Wladimir Klitschko, before pulling a 30-month disappearing act while riding out a banned substance suspension and battling drug addiction and severe mental health issues. On two separate occasions over that stretch, he claimed to have been done with the sport, which functionally served as having abdicated the throne. Others chose to continue to recognize him as the king, claiming the crown can only be won and lost in the ring.
It’s a moot point, as Fury settled the debate with his emphatic, one-sided win over Wilder the second time around. The two were universally regarded as the top two heavyweights in the world—despite an outside argument for unified titlist Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21KOs) having a say in the conversation—which in effect created an undisputed claim as to who is the division’s king.
Of course, Wilder’s post-fight reaction offered plenty of dispute along with unique alibis as to why he suffered his first career defeat. The 34-year old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama claimed a weakened state after having to bear the weight of a 45-pound costume he sported for his memorable ring walk, along with taking issue with the actions of assistant trainer Mark Breland, who literally threw in the towel in round seven after watching his charge suffer two earlier knockdowns and reaching the point of no longer being able to defend himself.
Wilder has since walked back the latter part, at least through an official statement released by his publicity team. The boxer himself posted a video on Friday, claiming to still be a king and vowing to restore glory in his kingdom with a third crack at Fury.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox