UPDATE (9:04 pm ET): The new target date for Fury-Wilder 3 is October, according to ESPN.
Earlier today, it was reported by Mike Coppinger of ESPN that there was a “COVID-19 outbreak” in Tyson Fury’s camp, and that his scheduled July 24 fight with Deontay Wilder would “inevitably” be postponed. That caused a stir, of course, and a lot of speculation and attempts to follow up.
We now have a big follow-up, as Dan Rafael reports that Tyson Fury himself is one of the people from his camp who tested positive for COVID-19, and the fight will be postponed. Top Rank have still not said anything on official channels, but that news hitting ESPN — Top Rank’s partners — first always seemed to make it a lot more legit of a concern than some hoped would be the case, and it’s looking like that’s the deal.
Coppinger earlier reported that the rescheduled fight would likely land in September, which could be a packed month for big fights and events if that’s the case.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KO) will be defending his WBC heavyweight title against Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KO). Neither have fought since Fury dominated their Feb. 2020 rematch, and this postponement is just the latest in a series of heavyweight division mess in 2021, where nothing of any significant note has actually happened, but a lot of talk has been talked by the division’s three biggest names.