Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua in Limbo Following Court Decision for Deontay Wilder
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images. Pictured: Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder
The August boxing super-fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua may have to wait because of Deontay Wilder.
On Monday, a judge ruled in Wilder's favor that Fury owes him a rematch before fighting Joshua — or anyone — and that fight must take place before Sept. 15.
This news comes just one day after Fury announced his bout with Joshua would take place on Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia. The fight was scheduled to be for the undisputed heavyweight title with Saudi Arabia paying $150 million to host the event, according to multiple reports.
While the match isn't called off just yet, the ruling certainly adds a lot of barriers between now and then.
Wilder, who lost the second fight against Fury after their first meeting ended in a draw, sought a rematch due to a clause in the fight contract. Multiple attempts to schedule the fight fell through, leaving Fury to walk away from the trilogy and turn his attention to Joshua, who is the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight champion. Joshua was on the wrong end of one of the sport's biggest upsets when he lost to Andy Ruiz Jr., but he earned a unanimous decision win in the rematch.
Fury defeated Wilder by knockout back in February 2020 as a +105 underdog.
Fury was listed as a -174 favorite over Joshua at FanDuel. Joshua came back as a +138 underdog.
That fight could still happen as scheduled, but it would likely require a significant payday to Wilder to step aside from his chance at a trilogy, at least for now.
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