As fans know, Deontay Wilder is contractually due a third fight with Tyson Fury, and Wilder has made it clear he wants it. No step aside money, no allowing Fury to fight Anthony Joshua next. Wilder will not rest until he gets that third fight with Fury and, he believes, the revenge and redemption that will come with it.
But we are not currently living in ordinary times. Not at all. As Bob Arum explained when speaking with Sky Sports, a third fight between Fury and Wilder is currently “impossible to schedule due to the travel ban.” Fury is not allowed into the US, Wilder is not allowed into the UK. Yeah, this whole coronavirus has messed up so much.
Arum said himself, that although he is 88, he has never seen anything like this before, that he doesn’t have the experience to be able to deal with the lockdown conditions we are living under, that have so affected the boxing schedule (and of course far more serious global issues). Arum says that right now, “anything is on the table.” It could be that Fury does end up fighting Joshua next instead, both men, of course, living in the same country, their fight a behind closed doors possibility.
Until the lockdown restrictions are lifted, its anyone’s guess who will fight who next and where. Its possible Fury could face another fighter other than Wilder or Joshua next, with the WBC ruler taking a stay-busy type of fight perhaps.
If you had your choice, would you rather see Fury fight next – Joshua or Wilder? It seems that as far as which match is made next, this will come down to which fight is the most realistic to put into place during these unprecedented times.
Wilder won’t be happy if Fury goes ahead and fights someone else next, but this is what could happen. Maybe this would be a blessing in disguise for Wilder and his career. After all, you were not giving him much of a chance against Fury in the third fight, were you?
One good thing that might just come from the coronavirus is a Fury-Joshua showdown. A fight absolutely everyone wants to see. Right now, as Arum says, pretty much anything is possible.
