The worst kept secret in boxing was finally revealed with the announcement of the rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury serving as a joint pay-per-view venture between ESPN+ and Fox Sports.
What won’t be a secret is how Wilder and the Fox Sports team will interact.
Both sides of the equation formally announced on Friday their anticipated sequel, which takes place February 22 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Fox Sports served as the sole producer and distributor for Wilder’s last PPV headliner, in which he scored a highlight reel 7th round knockout of Luis Ortiz in their own rematch this past November, also at MGM Grand.
It was just the second PPV main event for the defending heavyweight titlist, and first with the Fox Sports family. The majority of his title reign has taken place under the Showtime umbrella—seven of his 11 career title fights including his 12-round draw with Fury atop a Showtime PPV last December in Los Angeles.
Fox Sports put up aggressive bids to secure the rights to the rematches with Ortiz and—in partnership with ESPN—Fury, with the prior sequel leaving a good feeling for future business together.
“They really impressed me,” Wilder (42-0-1, 41KOs) told BoxingScene.com of working with the platform. “They exceeded all expectations. My fight with Luis Ortiz was promoted very well, you seen it every-f--kin’-where. YouTube, social media—they did such a great job in making sure people had awareness to the event.
“I feel like it was a really good thing working with them.”
Interestingly, Fox Sports managed to land the rights to a pair of Wilder-involved rematches to bouts which first aired under the Showtime umbrella. The 34-year old heavyweight titlist from Tuscaloosa, Alabama has always enjoyed working with Showtime, currently one of two platforms—Fox Sports being the other—regularly showcasing events branded by Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), with whom Wilder has been aligned since its inception in 2015.
In securing the rights to the Ortiz rematch, Fox Sports was given a chance to show the charismatic heavyweight its ability to market an event. Shoulder programming for the event set platform records across the boards, with the fight itself selling just north of 275,000 PPV buys.
The idea of building on that event and working hand in hand with ESPN—a sports-dominant platform since its formation 40 years ago—has all parties involved abuzz of the potential to turn the Feb. 22 show into something so much bigger than just a heavyweight title fight rematch between big men.
“Fox Sports is a big platform, ESPN is a big sports network—you’re talking about to the two biggest sports [platforms] combined, working together,” Wilder notes. “That’s so many eyeballs between the two. Then you add to the two biggest heavyweights in the world today, the two biggest personalities in the sport.
“The promotion from both sides, from Tyson Fury and myself as well… this is just gonna be amazing. I’m glad I got to work with Fox Sports already, they are a great team, great energy. They really love the sport of boxing, for sure. This event is going to be amazing. Fox Sports and ESPN gonna be working to make sure don’t nobody miss witnessing greatness.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox