Chris McKenna of the Daily Star broke the news Monday that an arbitrator has ruled in favor of Deontay Wilder, determining that Tyson Fury is contractually obligated to face the “Bronze Bomber” for a third time.
In their last match-up in Feb. 2020, Fury dominated the fight from the opening bell, dropping and eventually stopping Wilder in the seventh round when Mark Breland threw in the towel. The pair were meant to collide for a third fight in July 2020, which was postponed to October, and then December due to the pandemic and a lingering injury for Wilder.
Attempts were made to reschedule the bout for 2021, but Tyson Fury and his team felt that the rematch clause had by this point expired and chose to move on from the trilogy in the pursuit of a new (and honestly more enticing) matchup with Anthony Joshua.
Negotiations for the undisputed heavyweight championship between Fury and Joshua seemed to have moved pretty far along, with Bob Arum claiming to have secured an August 14 date for this mega-event (and Fury “announcing” the fight yesterday).
However, judge Daniel Weinstein’s decision that Fury must face Wilder before September 15 really throws all of these plans into disarray. It is unclear if Team Fury will be able to appeal the decision, so stay tuned for updates.