The third fight between WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder has been pushed back until the end of 2020 at the earliest because of complications surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum made the revelation Tuesday to Sports Illustrated.
Fury dominated Wilder in their rematch last February to claim Wilder's WBC title, stopping Wilder in seven rounds. It was expected Wilder would invoke his immediate rematch clause, and he did so shortly after suffering the first defeat of his career. The fight was penciled in for summer before COVID-19 brought sports to a halt.
There were rumblings the fight would be pushed to October, but with so much uncertainty surrounding the state of sports and Wilder recovering from recent biceps surgery, Arum is targeting November or December for Fury-Wilder 3. That appears to be a best-case scenario, however, and the fight could be on hold until next year.
Wilder made it clear that there was never a doubt in his mind that he would face Fury again, no matter how much punishment he took in the last fight.
“Why [would] I not want [the rematch]?” Wilder told "The Premier Boxing Champions Podcast" recently. "You know, like I said, at this moment in time, you know, we’re just sitting back. It’s going to be a time and place where I'm ready to come out. It’s going to be a time and place where I say what I need to say.
"You know, but looking at the fight, [Fury] knows that wasn’t me. I know that wasn’t me and the people in boxing, everyone knows that wasn’t the real Deontay Wilder. Something was wrong with him, and you know, we will show. Like I said, there’s a time and place for it all, and I'll reveal a lot of things."