By Tim Parsons-
The highly anticipated rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontey Wilder may not happen this year, although Fury’s new promoter has hinted that their showdown may happen in September. His words sound like nice words to console the disappointing hearts of boxing fans, who were looking forward to the second clash of these two heavyweights. In reality, that fight may not happen this year at all after the big U.S promoter launched a stunning coup. Fury’s new £80m deal for four fight keeps him with BT Sport in the UK and ESPN under Bob Arum in the U.S.
Arum will not want to risk loosing his cash so early, and most heavyweights do not fight four times a year, but Fury might be planning on fighting a couple of times this summer If Fury is going to break that pattern, he should be announcing his next fight now, but no date has yet been set. Wilder is aligned with the Showtime network in America, who broadcast their first fight last December. Already talking like the promoter he is, Arum told LA Times that it may be better to build each fighter a bit before bringing them together, but gave no assurances. All he said is:
“The only way to do that is to allow the general sports fan to really get to know these guys. “If that takes each of them fighting another opponent first, then rolling them into a September fight. “The money on the table then would be more than they can conceive of… That’s the way I look at it.” The way we look at it is that fight is now up in the air. Arum will match Fury with fighters he will beat, but cannot really afford to match him to softly. He will give Fury the ring practise he needs to make him even better than when he met Wilder, but the extra time will also give the American WBC time to add size and muscle, which he desperately needs to do to improve his chances of victory when they eventually meet.
The problem is that in the meantime, Wilder may risk defeat if he has to face other opponents first, and Britain’s Anthony Joshua may go for the shot first. Fury’s team wouldn’t want to that chance, but they may be confident that Wilder will beat Joshua if they meet, since there are many people who believe so. Arum to be so confident in Fury’s ability that he risks matching him with Wilder sooner rather than later, but not many boxing promoters with such a big deal will want to risk that so early.Fury’s British promoter, Frank Warren, still wants the fight to happen as do the two heavyweights, according to reports. September will be a good time for the heavyweight giants to meet, but don’t hold your breath. The way things are going now, until the fight is announced, there is no reason to believe it will happens soon.
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