Deontay Wilder confirms rematch with Tyson Fury
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder announces via social media that he will have a rematch with Tyson Fury following his defense against Luis Ortiz.
In an announcement on his Twitter page, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has confirmed that a rematch between him and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is all but official.
In a 60-second clip, Wilder, claiming himself as “America’s champion” is seen delivering some of his best knockouts in the ring. The words “1 draw” then come on screen to signify the controversial first outing with Fury from December. The bout was ruled a split draw after Wilder knocked Fury down twice, with Wilder nearly winning a knockdown in the final round.
Wilder most recently retained his WBC title in Brooklyn, NY, two weeks ago, scoring a first-round knockout of Dominic Breazeale.
Wilder emphasizes, however, that his recently announced plan to rematch with Luis Ortiz is still intact. Wilder-Fury II will most likely take place in early 2020.
Well, As I always say I’m the realest Champion in the business and as I’ve mentioned before I must handle all my Controversial
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) May 31, 2019
Fights ASAP‼️
Luis Ortiz @kingkongboxing is first then Tyson Fury @Tyson_Fury Next. pic.twitter.com/dcu2byb6y2
“As I always say, I’m the realest champion in the business,” Wilder tweeted. “And as I’ve mentioned before, I must handle all my controversial fights ASAP. Luis Ortiz is first, then Tyson Fury next.”
Despite getting troubled by Ortiz during their first fight last year, Wilder defeated him via 10th round TKO.
There were negotiations for Wilder-Fury II earlier this year, and things looked likely to happen until Fury caught the boxing world off guard by signing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank and ESPN. Fury makes his promotional debut on June 15, taking on Tom Schwarz in the main event of a Top Rank card in Las Vegas, NV.
CONFIRMED: The rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is a done deal, as Wilder himself just announced. Looks like it will take place in the early part of 2020. First PBC-Top Rank co-promotion since Mayweather-Pacquiao in 2015. I expect a joint PPV, but remains to be seen
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) May 31, 2019
As mentioned by boxing insider Mike Coppinger, Wilder-Fury II will be the first time Top Rank and Premier Boxing Champions co-promote an event since the 2015 pay-per-view clash between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. While not confirmed to be a pay-per-view event, Wilder-Fury II is expected to be such since their first meeting was broadcast on Showtime PPV.
Coppinger added this could lead to Top Rank and PBC working together for other bouts, including a highly-anticipated title unification bout at welterweight between IBF champ Errol Spence Jr. and WBO champ Terence Crawford.
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The Wilder-Fury II announcement comes on the eve of WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s U.S. debut, a title defense against Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While a Joshua-Wilder undisputed title fight still may seem distant, the hype for the fight can only grow if Joshua gets past Ruiz (and possibly another mandatory title challenger) and if Wilder defeats Ortiz and Fury without controversy.