Deontay Wilder: record, next fight and profile →
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has broken his silence regarding the unexpected turn of events with Deontay Wilder. Fury was close to finalizing a deal to face WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO champion Anthony Joshua in a full division unification on August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
Dines & English, the lawyers for former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, have issued a legal to enforce the boxer's mandatory shot at the WBO heavyweight title, which is currently held by Anthony Joshua. Usyk became the mandatory challenger in 2019, after vacating all four of his cruiserweight titles and making an official move to the heavyweight limit.
Retired heavyweight contender Malik Scott, who currently trains former world champion Deontay Wilder, says the once-beaten boxer will not accept a step-aside agreement to allow Tyson Fury to face Anthony Joshua in a full division unification on August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
Eddie Hearn is holding out hope that the lucrative Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight can be salvaged for August 14 in Saudi Arabia. If that isn’t possible and Fury moves forward with a third fight against Deontay Wilder, Hearn intends to move on to Plan B by the end of this week. The most probable Plan B for Joshua, according to Hearn, is a mandatory defense of his WBO heavyweight title against Oleksandr Usyk.
Frank Warren, co-promoter of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, fears that it could cost as much as $20 million to get Deontay Wilder to step aside so Fury can fight Anthony Joshua in a full division unification. Fury vs. Joshua was an inch away from being announced for August 14 in Saudi Arabia.
By Lyle Fitzsimmons - Just when you thought it was safe to get excited about a heavyweight fight… Back comes Deontay Wilder. According to Monday reports, a favorable – to Team Wilder, anyway – ruling from an arbitrator means WBC champ Tyson Fury must face his two-time foe in a trilogy bout by mid-September, surely scuttling a would-be August unification with Anthony Joshua that had been made official over the weekend.
Yet another hurdle has been placed on the road to crowning an undisputed heavyweight champion. Lineal and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will have to honor a contractual clause which calls for a third fight with Deontay Wilder, arbitration judge Daniel Weinstein ruled on Monday. The case was the subject of a months-long legal battle, serving as among the contributing factors in delaying a desired undisputed heavyweight championship showdown between Fury and WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight titlist Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22KOs).
WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has taken aim at Deontay Wilder and his assistant trainer, retired heavyweight Malik Scott. Fury fought Wilder twice - going to a controversial twelve round split draw in their 2018 encounter, and then stopping him in the seventh round of their rematch in February 2020.
Tyson Fury still firmly believes that Deontay Wilder blast out Anthony Joshua in the early rounds of a potential fight. Back in February of last year, Fury stopped Wilder in the seventh round to capture the WBC heavyweight title. Fury is now close to finalizing a deal to face Joshua, who holds the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO world titles. Their fight would likely land in the summer, in Saudi Arabia.
Andy Ruiz Jr.’s ultimate goal is to become a two-time heavyweight champion of the world. With Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua presumably preoccupied with fighting each other twice, though, Ruiz would welcome a showdown with a fellow former champion. If Ruiz beats aged underdog Chris Arreola on Saturday night, he’ll urge his handlers to arrange a fight against Deontay Wilder.