July 09, (THEWILL) – Boxing fans will have another long wait for one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights of the year as a positive COVID-19 test return for British World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion Tyson Fury means the originally scheduled July 24 bout against American Deontay Wilder has been postponed.
Their T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas fight will need to be set at another date with care taken to not clash with Olympics events and the other expected heavyweight bout of September 25 between British World Boxing Organisation (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) champion Anthony Joshua and mandatory WBO challenger Oleksandr Usyk.
A possible date that may be considered in the calendar for fights is October 9 as the schedule is crowded post-Olympics with Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao slugging it out against Errol Spence Jr. in their pay-per-view fight on August 21, and Mexican unified super middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez scheduled to fight Caleb Plant in the second week of September.
The positive cases were reportedly widespread in Fury’s camp with multiple positive test results. All boxing-related activities have been shuttered and the camp closed. The implication is that the British boxer will most likely return to isolation in England until a new date is established and he can begin a fresh preparation programme.
It comes as another chapter in the long-winding story of the Fury versus Wilder fights, now in its third phase and expectedly Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel said: “Deontay is disappointed” especially as so much had been put into the July 24 date, with much by way of time and material investment to get prepared.
THEWILL recalls that Fury beat Wilder to become WBC champion in February 2020 in Las Vegas, 14 months after the pair shared a thrilling draw in Los Angeles at the Staples Center. Since that February bout, neither boxer has fought.
Attempts for a third fight fell through several times because of complications around the COVID-19 pandemic. Then, Fury sought to move on and face fellow Briton Joshua, who holds the other three significant titles at heavyweight for a highly promoted unification fight.
However, as THEWILL reported, an arbitration hearing ruled that Wilder had contractual grounds for a third contest and slammed a deadline for it to happen before the July 24 date was fixed and preparations kicked off in earnest, only for Fury to test positive
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
