Tyson Fury is stubbornly refusing to pay Deontay Wilder a step aside to help save his mega-fight against Anthony Joshua on August 14th.
Fury feels that Wilder is an easy fight for him, so he’s opting to walk away from the fight that the boxing world was hoping to see.
Is Fury using Wilder to avoid Joshua?
It’s a questionable move for Fury not to pay Wilder a step aside because he’s basically saying that he’d rather than face him than Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs), who is a harder fight on paper for him.
For Fury not to even attempt to salvage his August 14th fight against Joshua by offering Wilder a step aside, it seems obvious to some that he’s not comfortable with facing AJ.
The terms are reportedly agreed for the third Fury vs. Wilder clash, which is coming a little later than expected. Up until last Monday, Fury had been trying to get out of fighting Wilder again despite being under contract.
Unfortunately, the arbitrator for the case foiled Fury’s plans by ordering him to face the former champ by September 15th.
Despite the ruling, Fury could have still gone ahead with his scheduled fight against IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on August 14h, but he refused to offer Wilder a step aside.
With his decision not to give ‘The Bronze Bomber’ a step aside, Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) gives up $75 million for the AJ fight to face former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) on July 24th or August 14th.
Those are the two potential dates that are being considered for the Fury vs. Wilder 3 trilogy match.
Gypsy King gives Wilder a warning
“You had a boxing lesson the first time, humiliation. Then you had an absolute destruction,” Fury said to The Athletic about Deontay Wilder.
“I hate to think what he’s going to get the next time. I’m going to have two sets of knuckle dusters in my gloves this time, p***y,” said Fury on what he’s planning for Deontay.
Going by how Fury looked last year in his 7th round knockout victory over Wilder, he has a chance of doing the same thing with him in their trilogy.
You can’t use last year’s fight to gauge how the third fight will be, though, as Fury has gained a lot of weight.
Even though he’s lost much of it, he’s carrying around huge saddlebags around his sides. Fury may be less effective against Wilder in their next fight if the stubborn weight doesn’t come off.
The other thing that will be different about the third fight is Wilder’s right arm will be back in use. He fought Fury with a torn right bicep last time they fought, which limited his effectiveness.
Wilder has a new trainer in Malik Scott, who is changing the way he fights by adding more movement.
That in itself will complicate matters for the 270+ lb Fury because he won’t be able to count on walking Wilder down and battering him in close with his 40-lb weight advantage.
Fury refuses to pay Wilder a step aside
“I wouldn’t give him $20,000. I pay in a*** whoopings, and that’s what I’ll give him,” Fury said about Wilder. “I wouldn’t give him $100,000 because I’d rather give him them big fists right in the face.”
Apparently, Fury isn’t concerned about how the boxing public feels about him messing up his fight with Joshua. It was a mistake on Fury’s part to begin negotiations with Joshua while the arbitration case with Wilder hadn’t been completed.
Fury could have at least tried to fix things by offering Wilder a step aside so that he could salvage the August 14th fight with Joshua.