Just a day after Tyson Fury announced that he had accepted the fight against Anthony Joshua and that it would take place on August 14, unexpected news emerged on Tuesday that has turned both fighters’ plans upside down.
Fury has been ordered to have a third fight against boxer Deontay Wilder. Judge Daniel Weinstein, who oversaw an arbitration imposed by the American fighter, ruled that that fight must take place before September 15.
The conflict between Wilder and Fury arose after a second fight between the two (in February 2020) in which the Briton won the WBC world heavyweight title after an initial fight ended in a draw.
In the contract, a third fight between the two was agreed to take place in the summer of the same year, but due to the pandemic it was postponed.
Although both fighters’ teams tried to agree on a new date, the negotiations failed. Fury rejected Wilder’s proposal to fight in 2021 and focused his efforts on a fight with Joshua.
This WBC mediation does not necessarily mean the death of the Joshua vs Fury fight, but perhaps that Fury would have to pay compensation to Wilder to give up the third fight.
Still, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is already considering Oleksandr Usyk as a possible replacement for Fury.
