On Sunday, it was announced that a fight to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury was set to take place August 14th in Saudi Arabia. However, new developments have since emerged that could see the fight put on hold.
It is being reported that arbitrator and retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein has ruled that Deontay Wilder is entitled to a third fight against Tyson Fury with a deadline set for September 15th pending an extension, sources tell Mike Coppinger of The Athletic.
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder fight history
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder first fought on December 1, 2018 for the WBC Heavyweight championship held by Wilder. The fight ended in a controversial split decision with many thinking Fury deserved to be awarded the decision victory. In 2019, both Wilder and Fury signed off on a rematch for the following February with the provision that a third fight would take place unless the loser decided against the bout.
Fury did not leave the outcome of the fight in doubt by handing Wilder his first career loss via TKO and becoming the new WBC Heavyweight champion. Wilder immediately ordered a third fight, which was was initially set for July 2020. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced the bout to be postponed.
A proposed December 2020 date for the third fight was snuffed out, citing scheduling conflicts for host networks Fox and ESPN. Deontay Wilder suggested the fight be rescheduled to a later date in 2021 but Fury refused. With the fight’s date at a standstill, Fury instead opted to move on pursuing the aforementioned Anthony Joshua undisputed title fight.
This led to Wilder filing an injunction, claiming Fury owed him a rematch based on their agreement prior to their second fight. In the meantime, it was reported in March 2021 that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury signed a two-fight deal with their first fight to take place some time in the summer.
While Weinstein gave a deadline of September 15th for the Wilder-Fury trilogy, there is a glimmer of hope that the originally planned undisputed title fight could still go down this year as both fighters must meet and agree on a date for the fight.