Former unified champion calls out Wilder
Yesterday, Deontay Wilder felt like the “cash cow” rug was somewhat pulled out from underneath him after the negotiations for an undisputed championship bout with UK superstar Anthony Joshua fell apart. This morning another UK star has called him out and he has somewhat of a claim to the heavyweight crown as well.
Tyson Fury took to social media this morning and started by apologizing to Wilder for the “bad deal” he got from team Joshua. Afterwards he told Wilder he would welcome a fight with him however. [Video below]
?️ Tyson Fury calls out Deontay Wilder and tells him to send a contract for a fight between them instead! pic.twitter.com/M7iQa9bwe1
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) June 27, 2018
Is a fight between Wilder and Fury as successful financially as one between him and Joshua? No, absolutely not but it is however definitely the second biggest fight out there for the WBC champion.
It’s also the second biggest fight for Fury, with Joshua being the first of course. An argument could be made that a fight between Fury and Joshua would be the biggest fight in British boxing history if built correctly. There’s a snag though in that Fury is on record stating that he would accept no less than a 50/50 split to face the former gold medal winner.
Also any negotiations between Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn is not going to go smoothly. In fact either side negotiating with Wilder is much easier, honestly.
What’s unclear is what type of deal Fury would seek. If he thinks for one minute that he could get the infamous $50M offer team Wilder sent to Joshua then he’s sadly mistaken.
For Wilder, not only is it the biggest money fight outside of Joshua but it also could drastically improve his market value ahead of a potential unification showdown with the unified champion from across the big pond.
It’s also a fight that right now Wilder would most certainly be favored to win. Fury just recently returned to the ring earlier this month after a two and a half year layoff. In that return he left something to be desired to say the least. Yeah it was his first time in the ring in quite a while but if he’s serious then how much more ring rust could he actually wear off?
Fury is scheduled to return in August as part of a card with him and Carl Frampton. While this is just the opening volley, it’s definitely one that team Wilder needs to take a very serious look at.
By: Chris Henderson
