By Jeff Aronow: Deontay Wilder has made it clear that he will be exercising his rematch clause for a third fight against Tyson Fury. Wilder said on Monday that he’ll be exercising the rematch clause, but he still hasn’t done that. He has 25 days, not 30, to exercise the rematch clause.
Although the fight must happen by July 18, according to the contract, states, ESPN, Fury’s promoter Bob Arum wants to push the trilogy match to the fall.
Like the last fight, Wilder-Fury III will take place on ESPN and Fox Sports pay-per-view. Just how much interest boxing fans will have in wanting to see a third fight between these fighters is the magic question. Still, even if the pay-per-view buys are half of what last Saturday’s fight produced, that’s still worth it.
Wilder vs. Fury III possible for September or October
Arum is thinking of September or October. He’ll need to get Wilder’s management at Premier Boxing Champions to agree to the trilogy fight being moved to the fall. Considering what happened to Wilder last Saturday, it’s possible that they’ll agree to it. Wilder needs as much time as possible to both rest, and to work on his game to fix the problems that led to his defeat.
If the fight does take place in July, it would be potentially difficult for former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), who took a lot of punishment in getting stopped in the 7th round last Saturday night in his rematch with Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Wilder was still on his feet in the 7th when his trainer Mark Breland threw in the towel. He was hurt from the 3rd round, but incredibly he lasted until the 7th. Nevertheless, Wilder took a lot of shots in the fight, and it might be better for him if the trilogy match is delayed until November.
Las Vegas likely city where Wilder vs. Fury 3 will take place
Arum will be looking to stage the Wilder vs. Fury 3 fight in Las Vegas at the new stadium being build for the Raiders.
“We may all decide to punt it to the fall, September or October,” Arum said to ESPN.com.
As the loser of the second fight, Wilder is entitled to a 40 percent cut to Fury’s winner’s cut of 60 percent. The winner of the third Wilder vs. Fury fight will likely look to face IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, in a fight for the undisputed championship.
The British fighter Fury will likely have no problems fighting Wilder in Las Vegas again. Last Saturday, the crowd at the MGM Grand was overwhelmingly pro-Fury, and they cheered him loudly during his ring-walk and during the fight.
For his part, Wilder was booed by the fans. It says a lot for Fury that his boxing fans were willing to travel from the UK all the way to the states to see him in high numbers. Wilder’s fans didn’t make the trip from his home state of Alabama in high enough numbers to drown out Fury’s fans.
Wilder said his legs weren’t at 100 percent for the rematch with Fury because of the heavy costume he wore. He estimated that he had the costume on for 15 minutes before he got to the ring for the fight. The costume weight 40 lbs, and weakened his legs.