Tyson Fury finally came out of the woodwork to respond to him losing his arbitration case with former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on Monday.
The arbitrator ruled that Fury has until September 15th to face Wilder in their trilogy. Fury had hoped of getting out of his contractual rematch with Wilder from last year in February, but the arbitrator foiled his plans.
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) says Wilder is a “Joke” for asking for $20 million in order for him to step aside so that he could go ahead with his August 14th match against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
If it’s true that Wilder $20 million for a step aside, that’s reasonably cheap compared to the money that Fury would have gotten for his undisputed heavyweight clash against IBF/WBA/WBO champion Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs).
“What a joke Deontay Wilder has become, asked for $20million to move over. Joker. Looks like I have to crack his skull again,” said Fury on social media in reacting to him losing his arbitration case against Wilder.
Fury needs to think hard before he chooses to walk away from the Joshua fight on August 14th. It’s no laughing matter that Fury is walking away from is a $75 million payday against Joshua.
Even if Fury were to have to pay Wilder $20M, that’s nothing compared to the money he’d get fighting Joshua.
The downside of Fury choosing not to give Wilder the money he’s asking for is rather obvious. If Fury loses to Wilder, the $75M that he would have gotten against Joshua will be gone forever.
If Fury gives Wilder the money he wants to step aside, Fury would still get $55 million for the AJ fight, and perhaps even more from the pay-per-view upside.
Wilder has got an edge over Fury right because he’s been training for months, and he’s looking like he’s in fighting shape. If they were to fight tomorrow, Wilder would have to be seen as the favorite due to his conditioning.
Fury is carrying around some saddlebags around his waist that he’s going to need to lose in a hurry for him to be in shape to be able to beat Wilder.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum wants to schedule the Fury vs. Wilder fight on July 24th at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
That’s not long from now, which means Fury is going to need to stop sun tanning and start focusing on losing some of the weight that he’s put on during the lockdown.