Next week, the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder arbitration arbitrator is reportedly expected to make a ruling on this case. Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) wants his contractual rematch that was part of his fight last year in February.
The arbitrator will decide whether Wilder is owed the third fight that was part of the rematch clause. It’s believed that Fury’s management sees the contract as having expired. The ruling next week is expected to decide if Wilder will get his third fight at some point and whether he’ll be awarded damages.
Not surprisingly, Fury would prefer to move on without taking the risky third fight with Wilder because he’s got a bigger money clash against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Anthony Joshua that could be messed up if he faces ‘The Bronze Bomber.’
With all the money on the line for the Joshua-Fury fights, it’s predictable that something will be worked out to move Wilder out of the way if the arbitrator rules against Fury.
There’s too much money at stake for the Joshua vs. Fury fight to risk it with ‘The Gypsy King’ taking on Wilder and getting knocked out.
If it was a weak opponent with no power and virtually no chance of winning, Fury likely would take the fight in a second.
Fury obviously would have gotten the contractual rematch out of the way last year there than letting it drag on, hoping it would magically go away on its own.
But Wilder isn’t a sure thing win for anyone, particularly for Fury, who he clearly knocked out in their first fight 2018, a match that many boxing fans saw as Tyson being saved by a long count.
It’ll be fun to see how the arbitrator rules and what move Team Fury will make to get Wilder out of the way so they can take the two payday fights against Anthony Joshua.
Wilder may be made to wait until Joshua faces Fury twice, which could be a bad thing for him. Think about it. If Joshua destroys Fury twice in a row by knockout, it’ll be almost pointless for Wilder to face the ‘Gypsy King.’
The money that a third Wilder-Fury fight would have made while Fury was still unbeaten will be gone, as the boxing world will view him as finished goods, and the match won’t make the big money that it would have.
“Sources: Resolution expected in Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder arbitration in coming days, potentially by Monday. The dispute surrounds the rematch clause: is Wilder owed a third fight? Former judge Daniel Weinstein will rule. Will Wilder be awarded damages? Will Fury simply move on?” said @MikeCoppinger.
“This goes on, of course, against the backdrop of efforts to finalize Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua for early August in Saudi Arabia, with Aug. 14 in Riyadh being eyed, per sources.”
