Deontay Wilder is *Almost* Back
By Eddie Sanchez
Wow, it sure seems that things move fast when you point a gun at a man! Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are said to have verbally agreed to a trilogy bout with July 24th in mind as the fight date.
Last year Tyson Fury left no doubt as he absolutely demolished the Bronze Bomber by way of a 7th round TKO. The victory was so profound that there weren’t many fans who actually cared for the third fight that had already been signed into contract following the resurrection of Tyson Fury in their first bout.
While this outcome is surely disappointing to the fans hoping to finally find out who is the better man between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, the one positive we can point to is that Bob Arum and Al Haymon are moving swiftly to get Wilder back in the ring to face the WBC champ.
If this fight is to take place in Las Vegas this summer, then we will still have adequate time to schedule the fight that everyone is truly waiting for.
One wrinkle that has risen from this domino is Oleksandr Usyk now requesting to take advantage of his mandatory status and face Anthony Joshua. Given that it had been understood for months that Usyk was taking step-aside money in the meantime, this request may add some issues related to scheduling if Joshua and Usyk aren’t able to fight sooner rather than later.
For example, if this fight gets signed and agreed for late September, can we expect Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua to accept a quick turnaround to face Fury in December, when he could have potentially been resting for two months?
Time will tell of course, but for a situation that looked like it was set to be solved, we now have turned a corner and found an additional line to cross.
Fans must hope that the boxing gods offer us two drama-free competitive fights that end with both Brits leaving the ring victorious and healthy. If Usyk or Wilder wins the fights that are expected, but not confirmed, then we can likely expect to be jerked around for at least another six to eight months before there is a resolution.
