April 13th of next year could turn out to be one huge night for heavyweight boxing. But it could also prove to be a somewhat frustrating night for fight fans. Promoter Frank Warren has revealed to IFLTV that April 13th is in the running as far as a target date for the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder return fight absolutely everyone wants to see – April 13th of course being the day when rival heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua will fight (with Wembley having been booked for the fight for some time).
AJ will, according to Warren (and according to a whole lot of other people) face the winner of December 22’s rematch between Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora on the date, meaning we could have two big world heavyweight title fights going head-to-head. In terms of the possible time difference, as in if Wilder-Fury II takes place in the US once again, fight fans could watch both fights live, but who has the pay-per-view cash for two big fights? The cost of the first Wilder-Fury fight was $75 in the US and just under £20 in the UK, while a Joshua fight goes out for £20.
Have you got the dough to be able to buy both Wilder-Fury II and Joshua-Whyte II or Joshua-Chisora on April 13 if both fights do go ahead that same day? It’s never good for fight fans when big fights clash, take December 22: we UK fans have to choose between the Whyte-Chisora card and the Carl Frampton-Josh Warrington featherweight title fight card – one being shown by Sky Box-Office, the other on BT Sport pay-per-view.
It’s no secret Warren and Hearn have their differences, but we fans should not be made to suffer as a result. Surely a compromise can and will be made next year, and Wilder-Fury II will not go head-to-head with Joshua’s next fight. However, in terms of which fight most fans would likely choose to pay for if the two did duke it out for TV ratings, the WBC/lineal title fight return would very probably win that war.
But it’s a war that doesn’t need to be fought. See to it that these two big upcoming fights go ahead on different days, Hearn and Warren.
