By Jake Donovan
Even with the surprise plot twist regarding his most recent and still next intended opponent, Deontay Wilder insists that nothing will interrupt his plans for a springtime ring return.
The long-reigning unbeaten heavyweight titlist has been in months-long talks for a rematch with Tyson Fury, with whom he fought to a 12-round draw in their Showtime Pay-Per-View headliner last December. The commercial success of the thrilling clash of undefeated heavyweights—drawing a crowd of more than 17,000 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and selling over 300,000 PPV units—coupled with the inconclusive ending immediately prompted talks of the two running it back.
A deal was thought to be reached and announced in the coming days, only for the Fury camp to catch many in the industry off-guard with Monday morning’s news of his signing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank and ESPN. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but call for England’s Fury to fight a minimum of two times per year in the United States.
Nowhere in the ESPN news release did it indicate one of the fights would in fact be the rematch with Wilder, which has many in the industry concerned that the long-discussed heavyweight sequel won’t take place next—or even at all.
Fury’s new co-promotional aligns him with ESPN and its platforms in the U.S. and with BT Sport in the United Kingdom. Wilder fights under adviser Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner, which has long-term deals with Showtime and Fox Sports.
While others are ready to hit the panic button, the defending heavyweight titlist only sees upside from the recent news.
“For me, I think it’s a great thing.” Wilder (40-0-1, 39KO) stated during a recent podcast interview with Tha Boxing Voice. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing; it’s a good thing. At the end of the day, we put ourselves in a position that we feel is gonna enhance our career.
“That’s what it’s all about, putting yourself in position, your family into position to where it benefits you and your career.”
Past whispers had the rematch budgeted for May 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Monday marks three months out from that targeted date, normally at the time when a major PPV event is announced although the first fight was finally confirmed on September 21, roughly 10 weeks ahead of fight night.
There exists growing concern that talks won’t get any easier now that more parties are involved. Wilder’s only concern is not when he’s going to fight next, but who will stand in the opposite corner.
“Look I plan to still fight in May,” Wilder insists. “If it’s not Fury, we can fight that bitch-ass Dominic Breazeale. We can fight that Polish kid (Adam Kownacki) or we can fight (England’s Dillian Whyte). It don’t matter to me.
“We’re still fighting in May. It could be the 18th, that hasn’t changed. Whether it’s against Breazeale… we’re still fighting on that date. We’re in control of our career. We’re still gonna have that date. It could be Breazeale, it could be (Kownacki). You got (Andy) Ruiz, he just came to the (PBC) stable. Ortiz still over here. We got plenty of options.”
For now, the priority remains a rematch with Fury, if only to settle unresolved issues from their first fight. Many observers had Fury (27-0-1, 19KOs)—who claimed the lineal heavyweight championship with a Nov. ’15 win over Wladimir Klitschko—winning the 12-round fight, but fueling debate to the contrary were a pair of knockdowns in rounds 9 and 12 scored by Wilder.
The latter of the two knockdowns had Fury flat on his back and seemingly done for the night, only to miraculously rise from the canvas, beating the count and finishing the fight. The 10-8 round, however proved to be the difference between a split decision win and the eventual draw verdict handed down.
Wilder would love nothing more than another opportunity to provide closure—and can’t quite fathom why his heavyweight rival isn’t in as much of a hurry to do so.
“The rematch is still on the table for him. If he wants it, he wants it. If not, then may God be with him. It’s a draw, nobody won and nobody lost. With me and my mentality as a champion, I want to see a winner and a loser. I don’t want to see no draw.
“With Fury, I guess he feels he’s gotten the response of the people that he won the fight. That’s how he feel and I can feel that same way. Each and every day, all I’ve been getting is how I knocked him out. The highlight for him is how he got back up.”
A highlight for boxing fans would be for the two sides to now disprove the long-validated theory that exclusive deals with rival networks and platforms have caused more harm than good for the long-term health of the sport.
One failsafe would be whether or not the World Boxing Council (WBC) regains control of the reins. The Mexico City-based organization—whose title Wilder has defended eight times since winning the crown in Jan. ‘15—approved a proposal for the rematch last December, then ordering such talks to begin in January.
Two purse bid hearing have been delayed, as WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman previously explained to BoxingScene.com that the WBC would allow both camps to continue negotiating in good faith. If a deal were not to be reached in a timely fashion, the organization and its Board of Directors will directly get involved.
That decision has not yet been made as this goes to publish, although any such purse bid hearing would carry a custom 60/40 split in favor of Wilder as the defending champ. If it comes to that point, the decision will still reside with Fury as to whether or not to proceed, as Wilder welcomes any scenario that avoids the two heading in a different direction.
“I’m going to have my own opinion and his might be different,” Wilder explained. “But it’d be a stupid move if the (rematch) doesn’t happen. I’m in a good position because even if it goes to purse bids, it’s still a 60/40 split for me. If he decides not to fight for me I think it will be a letdown for the fans.
“He doesn’t feel that same urge to get back in there again… but that’s my point of view. If he chooses to not fight me, that’s his decision to make but I feel it will be stupid.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
