Tyson Fury confirms trilogy bout with Deontay Wilder is OFF

Tyson Fury insisted ‘enough was enough’ as he confirmed his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder has been abandoned. 

Sportsmail exclusively revealed the story on Saturday that the proposed December fight had now been scrapped – clearing the way for a blockbuster heavyweight unification with Anthony Joshua.

Fury has since confirmed Sportsmail’s report and said that while he was ‘looking forward’ to a third fight with the American, he was unwilling to be messed around in making it happen. 

‘I was looking forward to smashing Wilder again. A quick and easy fight,’ Fury told the Athletic.

‘But Wilder and his team were messing around with the date. They don’t really want to fight the lineal heavyweight champion.

‘They know how it ends. The world knows how it will end: with Wilder on his ass again.

‘Then they asked me if I would agree to push it to December. I agreed to Dec. 19. Then they tried to change the date again into next year. I’ve been training. I’m ready. When they tried moving off Dec. 19 and pushing to next year, enough was enough. I’ve moved on.’

The collapse of a trilogy fight has shaken up the make-up of the heavyweight division going forward.

Fury will now make a warm-up defence of his WBC belt before Christmas, while Joshua defends his WBA, IBF and WBO titles against mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on December 12. 

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, shed light on a unification bout for the two Brits on a recent episode of panel show A League Of Their Own.  

Hearn confirmed to host Romesh Ranganathan that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have agreed a two fight deal in 2021 to unify the heavyweight division.  

‘We had a bit of success (during lockdown) with AJ and Tyson Fury planning for 2021,’ he explained.

‘Both agreed to fight in 2021, two fights, no doubt you’ll be on me for tickets! It’s a big fight, undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.’ 

Fury’s UK promoter Frank Warren added, via the Sun, on Saturday: ‘I don’t know if that fight can get on this year.

‘Promoters on both sides, we have worked very hard to make it happen, but it’s looking like it will not happen.

‘There’s talk about it happening next year. Tyson has been training like a lot of guys solidly since February, and he wants to fight this year.

‘My concern is Tyson’s welfare and well-being, and delivering what he wants, so he will fight this year.

‘Contractual commitments are what they are, but contracts do not go on forever, and if the fight cannot be delivered within the contractual period, Tyson will move on and maybe revisit the fight another time.’

The Joshua vs Fury fight is understood to be earmarked for the spring at Wembley Stadium, if the government lifts fan restrictions by then, or in either the Middle East or China. 

The only conceivable impediment to boxing finally regaining an outright champion of its marquee division would be Olexsandr Usyk enforcing his mandatory right to challenge Joshua for the WBO belt if he defeats Dereck Chisora in London at the end of this month.