Fury ready to pay Wilder millions to skip third fight
Boxing
By
Mirror
| Feb 26, 2020
Tyson Fury's promoter Frank Warren wants the new WBC heavyweight champion to fight fellow Brit Anthony Joshua next in a world title unification bout but says Deontay Wilder will first have to be persuaded to forgo an immediate rematch.
Fury claimed the WBC title in Las Vegas on Saturday with a seventh-round stoppage of Wilder, who fought the Briton to a split-decision draw in their first meeting in December 2018.
Wilder said this week that he would exercise his option of a third fight but Warren said he does not want to delay a mouth-watering match-up with Joshua, who holds the other three titles.
"I prefer to go straight to Joshua but that's the contract," Warren told the BBC. "If he insists on the fight, we're locked into it.
"It has to be honoured unless we reach some accommodation for him to step aside. We could pay him to step aside if he wants to do that, but that's his choice.
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"It would be lucrative for him, but I have spoken to his manager and Deontay does believe he has the beating of Tyson, and he can knock him out," added Warren.
"I don't believe that. I fancied Tyson to stop him before the fight at the weekend."
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn had said a fight with Fury "will happen" and could be the biggest in the history of the sport.
Joshua is set to face mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria next with talks ongoing for a bout in June.
"I'm disappointed, but obviously understand it as well," Hearn told TalkSPORT of Wilder's decision to take on the 'Gypsy King' for a third time. "He was the champion, he's lost his belt and wants to win it back.
"I don't think people want to see the third fight (the first one in December 2018 was a draw). They've had 19 rounds now, I think Wilder's probably won three of them, and in the last fight he didn't win any and he got battered.
"But I understand the contractual position. He does have a right to a rematch clause and it looks like he's exercising it.
"I'd just say 'hurry up please' and do it quickly."