Tyson Fury is set on a December fight after the disappointment of seeing a trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder fall apart.
Fury and Wilder were set to fight on Dec. 19, but the WBC heavyweight champion claimed that he was "moving on" from the fight and his contract with Wilder after the Bronze Bomber’s camp asked for a third postponement.
Fury’s UK promoter Frank Warren suggested that the overriding factor in the cancellation was the inability to hold the fight in front of enough fans to make the event financially viable, but he has also made it clear he intends to find an alternative fight for Fury in the coming weeks.
The 32-year-old Briton could now fight on Dec. 5 as part of the Yarde-Arthur card, with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum putting forward five names: Agit Kabayel, Michael Hunter, Efe Ajagba, Oscar Rivas and Charles Martin.
Arum believes that Fury now has no obligation to fight Wilder again, saying to ESPN: “We had a contract, but it expired.”
Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel was skeptical of Arum's claim, saying to the same organization, “He’s entitled to his opinion, he can think anything he wants.”
"Deontay and I would like to have the next fight, as planned, against Fury. We'll fight him any date, any place," Finkel continued.
Finkel suggested that Wilder would be the logical next fight for Fury after his December bout because he expects Anthony Joshua to lose his next fight with Kubrat Pulev in defense of his IBF title.
“Pulev is going to knock out Joshua. Then Wilder’s the best opponent next up for Fury.”
Joshua and Fury are expected to meet in 2021 assuming the pair win their next fights. Arum talked up the money-making prospects and boxing significance of Joshua-Fury.
"It's the biggest fight in the history of English boxing," and Arum would be happy to hold the event, “wherever it's the most lucrative to make it happen."