Tyson Fury v Deontay Wilder: Third fight possible for October – Frank Warren

British world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury could fight American Deontay Wilder for a third time in October, says promoter Frank Warren.

Last month, Fury, 31, gained a seventh-round technical knockout win over Wilder at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to take the WBC title from him.

The pair had previously fought in Los Angeles in December 2018, which ended in a controversial draw.

“Tyson’s got Deontay’s number, even if they fought in 10 years,” said Warren.

After the fight in February, Fury said his career would be “completed” if he faced fellow Briton Anthony Joshua – the current holder of the WBA, IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles – a bout that would give heavyweight boxing its first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis held all the belts in 2000.

However, Wilder triggered a clause in their second-fight contract, which gave him a 30-day window to accept a trilogy fight, with a date of 18 July in Las Vegas originally talked about, although that will not be possible now because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

“The 18th will not happen,” added Warren, who confirmed no Fury-Wilder bout would take place behind closed doors. “The commission in Nevada has said ‘no boxing’ for the foreseeable future and Las Vegas has closed down all the casinos – it’s like a ghost town there.

“No-one knows what’s happening day to day, all we can do is hope for the best and push it back as far as possible so October looks like the date for the fight.

“A fight between them behind closed doors just won’t happen – these guys are too big names to be fighting behind closed doors.”

Meanwhile, Joshua is now scheduled to fight Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 20 June, although Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has said it could be pushed back to July because of the knock-on effect of the Premier League season going past its scheduled May finish.

“Tyson’s contractual obligation was to have a third match with Wilder so it’s very difficult to talk about Joshua,” added Warren.

“Tyson’s at home with his family, doing his best to keep fit, but it’s the same for all of us. It is a terrible position everyone is in and we hope it passes soon.”

‘We have to pull together’

Warren felt the government needed to protect athletes, while adding that many of those fighters who were hoping to compete at the 2020 Olympics would now turn professional and not compete in the rescheduled Games in 2021.

“The Olympics are now more than a year away and are they going to stay in the unpaid ranks? I doubt it,” added Warren.

“We have to hope boxing is on track in the next three months. At the moment, there are just no answers. Every boxer or manager is asking ‘when am I fighting?’ and I don’t know.

“We’re all up in the air and in the hands of the scientists. We have a lot to recover from and the financial situation in the world is going to not be in a good place.

“They [boxers] are self-employed so they only get paid when they fight – a similar position to a waiter or waitress – it’s terrible. All we can do is hope the Government gives some assistance to the sector.

“There are going to be tough times for everybody and we have to pull together and move forwards.”

BBC