The third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder looks just about official, though it’s not quite official. ESPN reports that the two sides have agreed to terms for a July 24 fight in Las Vegas, with a venue to be announced. We do know that Top Rank have reserved a date at Allegiant Stadium, as was reported a few days ago, but the fight may not wind up there.
Neither Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO) nor Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KO) have been in the ring since their Feb. 2020 rematch, which Fury won in dominant fashion, taking the WBC heavyweight title and handing Wilder his first pro loss — which some thought should have come when they first met and fought to a disputed draw in 2018.
Fury, 32, and Wilder, 35, were supposed to meet for a third time immediately following their rematch, but COVID and a lingering Wilder injury prevented that from happening. Fury tried to fight in December of last year, a tune-up in the UK — expected to have been against Agit Kabayel — but Wilder’s team prevented that and forced an arbitration that went nowhere for months.
With the Fury side openly confident Wilder would not have a claim to enforce the trilogy bout, they entered into long, drawn-out, maniacally frustrating negotiations with Anthony Joshua for an undisputed championship fight. A deal was then struck for Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia, but wasn’t officially announced — and then, finally, an arbitrator ruled in Wilder’s favor, and here we are.
For now, it looks like Joshua will most likely fight his WBO mandatory challenger, Oleksandr Usyk, while Fury and Wilder hook it up again. If both Fury and Joshua win, there’s hope they’ll meet late in 2021.