Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III To Be Pushed Back Until October

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are likely to complete their trilogy of fights in October, according to promoter Bob Arum.

‘The Gypsy King’ emphatically stopped the American in seven rounds last month. Previously he was robbed on the judges’ cards as they had scored the first fight a draw in 2018. 

The Top Rank boss told ESPN the original date of July 18 was no longer on the cards due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, he said. 

“Clearly not. We don’t even know if the MGM will even be open by then. You could not guarantee the fighters that the event would take place on that date. We couldn’t convince them or ourselves.

“Where were they going to train for it? It just made no sense. You just have to take a step back. How are you going to sell tickets? It’s absolutely ridiculous to say the fight is on when the Brits can’t even get there.

“So everybody has to take a step back. Boxing is not isolated. It’s part of what’s happening in the world,” Arum said. “So possibly the fight will be in early October.”

Eddie Hearn, the promoter of heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been frustrated by this latest news. He now says his fighter could forgo an IBF defence against Kubrat Pulev and wait for the winner of the trilogy. 

“Well, I think, all of a sudden, does the Joshua-Fury fight start taking priority, maybe over a Pulev fight, if the Pulev fight extends beyond the summer? There’s so much that could happen right now.

“”I mean anything is possible, but contractually Deontay Wilder is going to want his fight next, whether that’s in July or whether there’s a force majeure that takes that to October, November wherever.””

Should Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III be postponed?