Tyson Fury faces paying Deontay Wilder up to £8m to step aside for Anthony Joshua as judge rules in American’s favour
TYSON FURY is going to have to pay Deontay Wilder massive step-aside money to secure the undisputed summer showdown with Anthony Joshua.
The 32-year-old Gypsy King dethroned the American in February 2020 but is contractually tied to a third fight.
Wilder’s injuries from that battering and the covid-19 pandemic meant the trilogy bout was repeated delayed until Team Fury snapped that October and claimed the contract had expired.
Fury and AJ have been busy plotting their Saudi Arabia straightener since June, even promising a double-header before 2022
But a US judge has now decided, following an arbitration, that Wilder is legally due a third fight that must happen by September.
Unless Team Fury win an appeal, the only way to secure the biggest fight in British boxing history will be paying Wilder off and, based on earnings from that last Las Vegas battle, that could be up to £8million.
AJ promoter Eddie Hearn has previously claimed that Wilder’s legal claim would pose no problem but he has also insisted that Joshua would refuse to contribute anything to the fee needed to buy Wilder out, which SunSport believes Fury will argue against.
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Most read in Boxing
The Alabama giant has acted bizarrely since the first defeat of his devastating career, making up woeful excuses for his loss.
But veteran manager Shelly Finkel was the mastermind behind some of Mike Tyson’s biggest deals and many inside the sport doubted he would have let such a lucrative contract expire.
And Wilder suddenly started training seriously again earlier this month and, worryingly for UK fight fans, already looks ready for a comeback bout
Former heavyweight world champ David Haye saw this coming last month when he told SunSport: “I have never heard of a long-running world champion – like Deontay Wilder was – not having a rematch clause in place in case he loses.
“Deontay himself has been very quiet, the team around him have not given much away but I would be very surprised if does not have some sort of impact in the making of this fight or gets something out of it not being him Fury is facing next.
“The pandemic obviously made the third fight very difficult to make but I remember thinking, when the news broke that the contract for it had expired, it sounded strange.
“I have boxed, promoted and now managed at the top level and I don’t think I have ever come across an expiration date for a rematch.
“I hope I am wrong, I hope the June or July date that is being talked about can be achieved.
“But I do think Deontay Wilder, or the management or promoters around him, will have a say or something to gain from it happening.”