By Scott Gilfoid: Deontay Wilder NEVER considered to step aside for an instant for heavyweight champions Tyson Fury to face Anthony Joshua in a unification fight, according to Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
He says the reports that news stories that sprang up overnight about former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 K.O.s) agreeing to step aside for Joshua to face Fury were pure fantasy.
Wilder NEVER expressed interest in stepping aside
Indeed, the 6’7″ Wilder made it clear from the jump that he WASN’T stepping aside and that he wanted the trilogy match against Fury (30-0-1, 21 K.O.s) so he could avenge his loss.
It would be interesting to know the person that created the fake news about Wilder wanting to step aside because that person got a lot of Fury and Joshua’s fans excited for nothing.
There are a lot of boxing fans that would prefer that Wilder step aside so that they can see Fury and IBF/WBA/WBO champ Joshua (23-1, 21 K.O.s) fight it out in the undisputed championship but that’s NOT happening.
If Fury is going to meet up with Joshua, then he’s going to need to earn that perch by beating Wilder. It won’t be easy this time.
Deontay will be ready for Fury this time
Wilder’s legs won’t be tired from wearing the ring-walk vest, and he’s going to be ready for his aggressive style of fighting. That means if Fury comes out throwing rabbit punches like he did last time, Wilder won’t be caught off guard.
There’s a perfect chance that we could see Deontay fighting Joshua instead of Fury. Wilder knows what he did wrong in the second fight, and he’s going to be ready to knock Fury out in their trilogy match in 2020.
Arum expects Fury vs. Wilder 3 to take place in 2020
“I know Eddie Hearn, who is in charge of putting together the Joshua-Pulev fight, is looking at those potential sites, and we’re looking at potential sites for a Fury-Wilder fight,” said Top Rank promoter Arum to Ringside Reporter Live.
“We’re working very cooperatively with PBC, and they know what we’re doing.
“We’ll be consulting with them once the path is clear to do a Fury-Wilder fight. I’m optimistic that it’ll happen this year. No interim bouts [before Fury vs. Wilder 3],” said Arum.
“The fights can happen but not until the last quarter of this year,” said Arum when asked about Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder and Vasily Lomachenko vs. Teofimo Lopez.
“And they may very well not happen in the United States or the United Kingdom, but there are other parts of the world that have tamed the virus because they took precautions early on, which we didn’t take here in the United States.
‘We sat on our a** for two months, letting the virus get out of hand, and we’re paying the price, also, in the U.K. where they did a similar thing. But there are other places in the world in Asia where they did make plans to deal with the virus. Their outbreak hasn’t been anywhere as near as ours.
“The virus seems like it’s under control, and we believe they’ll be open to events with spectators a lot faster than we well,” said Arum.
We still don’t know for a fact that Wilder vs. Fury 3 will happen in 2020, but there’s a chance. Arum is potentially going to need to find another country outside of the U.S. and U.K. to stage the fight. It’s too big of a match for it to take place behind closed doors.
Wilder wants trilogy match
“Directly to contrary. The Wilder people, when they saw these stories, they made it known to us that Wilder wasn’t amenable to a step aide,” said Arum.
“He wanted to fight Fury again and gain revenge, so these stories about step aside were fantasies. And rather than being fueled by Wilder, he reacted from the get-go negatively to the idea of a step aside.
“I’ve been informed by the Wilder people that the original October date that we all punted to from July for the reasons other than to by any injury, that date was acceptable and he could make a fight as early as that date,” said Arum “So certainly November or December would be a no-brainer.”
It sounded crazy from the beginning when reports began surfacing about Wilder, possibly stepping aside for $10 million to let Joshua and Fury fight. Wilder is too proud to step aside and let Joshua be the one that beats Fury.
If Wilder makes a move like that, he would leave his career twisting in the wind, and might not ever get a chance to redeem himself. For example, if Joshua destroys Fury, then Wilder would end up facing A.J.
Even if Wilder obligated Joshua, there would be no closure for him because he never avenged his loss to ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury. The fans of Fury and Joshua need to realize that Wilder WON’T step aside and that the only way those two are going to fight is if they win their next fights. As such, Joshua must beat Kubrat Pulev, and Fury will need to beat Deontay.
Shakur Stevenson vs. Rafael Rivera on June 9
“That depends on the state and the athletic commission, but we’re making good progress,” said Arum when asked about a Shakur Stevenson vs. Rafael Rivera fight on June 9. “But again, this is not ordinary times. We have all the confidence in the world with the state of Nevada and the Nevada Commission, and we’re preceding cautiously.
“It requires a lot of effort, which one wouldn’t expect in the sport of boxing like testing, quarantines, all areas that we’re not familiar with. I believe we’re on the road to getting it done for June 9, but nothing is a certainty. We’ll be doing these events once we start, hopefully, June 9, on a twice-weekly basis,” said Arum.
Shakur Stevenson vs. Rafael Rivera is a terrible fight, and, surprisingly, Arum would even want to waste his time with this. Rivera has lost four out of his previous six fights, he’s not ranked in the top 15, and he’s undeserving of a title shot.
