Deontay Wilder has been catapulted back into the heavyweight title scene during this past fortnight courtesy of an arbiter’s ruling that he’s entitled to a rematch with WBC champion, Tyson Fury.
The “Gypsy King” appeared to be on the verge of agreeing to a lucrative fight with Anthony Joshua but his immediate business now focuses on Wilder on July 25th.
Wilder has largely been absent from the spotlight since being stopped in seven rounds by Fury in February 2020 but this month’s ruling has once again made him a major talking point in boxing.
Rumours were rife that the American would be offered step aside money to allow Fury to take on Joshua, but Wilder’s advisor, Shelly Finkel, says one never looked likely.
“We never looked for a step aside or anything,” said Finkel to Sky Sports. “But on my logic, if it were me and I were in Eddie’s shoes – before the decision – I’m looking at 150 million, plus PPV, plus international TV, whatever. [They were] Probably looking close to 200 million.
“What would it take to say, ‘Hey guys, there is a chance we’ll lose. So instead of making 200 million, let’s offer them something and see if they’re interested?’
“It never came to that. It’s just silly. ‘If it were me, I would have spoken to my fighter and said, ‘Look, instead of making one hundred million, make ninety.’
“That’s a lot more than he’s going to make to fight Usyk [possibly next], for sure. But we hope to disrupt the party.”