Tyson Fury is set to do battle with Deontay Wilder for a third time. Yes, this is regardless of the result of their heavyweight rematch in Las Vegas on Saturday.
And that’s official. Fury confirmed it this week. The towering 6ft 9in British boxer said an agreement is in place for a third fight regardless of the outcome of the second fight.
“I think the money is too big not to have it,” he told Sky Sports this week.
“This is the prize-fighting game and there is too much money in the pot for him not to want the rematch, even if he loses.”
Asked if he would like a third fight, Fury, 32, said: “I don’t lose!
“I will be having a rematch either way. All I do is win – unless I get a draw!”
Wilder is USA’s first World heavyweight champ in 9 years
Wilder, older at 34 and shorter at 6ft 7in, is the USA’s first world heavyweight champion in nine years. There is therefore a lot at stake for him in putting his WBC title on the line against Tyson.
The first bout between him and Fury, a former WBA, IBF and WBO champion, ended in a contentious draw in December 2018. Many felt Fury had won, hence his quip, ‘Unless I get a draw.”
It’s not by much, but New Jersey’s sportsbooks don’t agree, it seems. FanDuel at -116 and Unibet and 888sport at -114, for example, all have him as their favourite with Fury at +102
Meanwhile Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants whoever comes out on top this weekend to commit to facing his unified champion.
“We have to put the pressure on the winner to finally get our fight on in 2020,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“We will have a conversation and say: ‘Are you doing a third fight? And if this is so, can you do it quickly please?’”
Fury won unified heavyweight title in 2015
In 2015 Fury won the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO, heavyweight titles by defeating long-reigning world champion Vladimir Klitschko in Germany.
He was stripped of his IBF title 10 days after the Klitschko bout as he was unable to grant a fight with the IBF’s mandatory challenger, Vyacheslav Glazkov, This was due to a rematch clause in his contract with Klitschko.
The Klitschko rematch never materialised. Fury began suffering from mental health issues. They in turn led to alcoholism, extreme weight gain, and recreational drug use. In 2016, he vacated the WBA, WBO, and IBO titles. The Ring stripped him of his last remaining title in early 2018.
Later in 2018, following more than two years of inactivity, Fury challenged Wilder for the WBC heavyweight title. The fight was controversially scored as a draw, with many believing Fury had won.
Fury’s strong performance against Wilder (including recovering from a heavy knockdown in the final round) earned him Comeback of the Year from The Ring and numerous other awards
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