Analysis of how both fighters and organisers can get themselves out of this mess and ensure the fight goes ahead
Tyson Fury has been warned he has a week to save his £200 million fight with Anthony Joshua as the British heavyweight faces a pay-out running into eight figures to keep the fight alive.
The undisputed title fight, set for August 14 in Saudi Arabia, is on the brink of collapse after Deontay Wilder won his civil arbitration case for a trilogy fight with Fury, which has been ordered to take place by September 15.
Fury’s team must now strike a deal with Wilder to step aside – which could run to tens of millions of dollars – with an insider telling Telegraph Sport that they will have “about a week to settle the case”.
That was echoed by Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn who warned that the clock is ticking for Fury’s legal team to clear this major obstacle. “We can’t wait around,” Hearn said today. “We had a deal in place with Tyson Fury and we were told the arbitration wouldn’t be an issue, that we could move on with this fight.
“They were wrong and that’s on them, that’s their responsibility and their problem. We hope they can solve that problem, but we have to look after ourselves and Anthony Joshua.
“We have to maintain the position of unified world champion, and those talks will continue and we want to be in a position by the end of this week to know, are we fighting Tyson Fury or are we moving forward with another option.”
The latest twist in the super fight was delivered on Monday night after arbitrator Daniel Weinstein, a retired federal judge with previous experience in dealing with boxing cases, ruled in favour of Wilder in a civil action against Fury. Wilder claims he was owed a rematch by Fury under the terms of their deal for their contest on February 22, 2020.
The fight was won by Fury, who took the World Boxing Council heavyweight crown when he stopped Alabaman in the seventh round. They had also fought to a draw in December 2018.
Initially, a date of July 18 was set for the trilogy, but that date was postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic before Wilder then underwent surgery. Wilder was then prepared to have the fight last December, only for Fury and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum to insist that the contractual clause expired last October.
It is understood that Weinstein ruled not only on financial damages, but that Fury must face Wilder by September 15, with room for an extension if both sides were agreeable.
Both Fury and Joshua and their teams went public that they were only days away from the contest being signed, after drawn out contractual talks, slowed by the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, but bringing together two heavyweight boxers in their prime for the biggest and richest fight in British boxing history.
But the ruling in the United States – where Fury is licensed as a fighter – has potentially scuppered the summer extravaganza in the Middle East, with all teams scrambling yesterday to find a resolution.
The promoters for Fury, and Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, declined to comment.
Court ruling is deadly serious for Fury v Joshua – this is how they get out of this mess:
Who are the key players ?
Deontay Wilder, his co manager Shelly Finkel, adviser Al Haymon; promoter Bob Arum and Tyson Fury; Mauricio Sulaiman, President of the WBC… and many, many lawyers.
What is the likely resolution?
Deontay Wilder and his advisers, including Shelly Finkel and Al Haymon, are in an extremely strong position. They can “play hardball” over tens of millions of dollars, demand that Fury face Wilder in the trilogy fight, or even come to an agreement that Wilder will get a financial settlement and will face the winner of Fury and Joshua. That scenario, however, will need Joshua’s team’s agreement in the event that AJ beats the ‘Gypsy King’.
Even if Fury vacates the WBC belt, in order to fight Joshua, there could be proceedings for an injunction to prevent the Briton fighting for a certain time, although a judge would have to rule on that. As one insider told The Telegraph, Wilder “is in the driving seat”.
What are the possible scenarios if Fury agrees to fight Wilder?
Arum has already said that if the Fury-Wilder trilogy fight goes ahead, it could take place in the United States on July 24. In which case, Joshua would most likely then fight his WBO mandatory challenger (Joshua holds the IBF, WBA and WBNO belts) challenger, the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk – possibly in Saudi Arabia, though later in August, or early September – and the rounds of talks could continue, and be finalised for Fury-Joshua to take place in December.That is dependent, naturally, on both fighters ending victorious.
Has this happened before?
Yes. In the Fury/Wilder ruling, judge Daniel Weinstein has cited the 2001 federal lawsuit taken out by Lennox Lewis against Hasim Rahman, who had knocked Lewis out in the fifth round to claim the title in April that year in South Africa. Lewis, like Wilder after the Fury loss last year, exercised his contractual right to an immediate rematch, stipulated as within 150 days. Rahman, however, wanted to fight Mike Tyson. Lewis took Rahman to federal court in New York in June 2001, won his case and they fought again in November. The judge ruled that unless Rahman gave Lewis the immediate rematch he would be barred from fighting for 18 months. Had he done so, Rahman would also have been stripped of his world title belts. Lewis knocked him out in the rematch in November that year.
“I find that Wilder, like Lewis, would be irreparably harmed if Wilder were denied the opportunity to regain the championship,” Weinstein was quotes as saying by boxing writer Dan Rafael in the United States yesterday.
What happens to the Saudi Arabia deal?
It will all be dependent upon what kind of resolution comes from the Fury-Wilder arbitration. Eddie Hearn secured a £107 million site fee from the same Saudi Arabian group that paid a record £45 million to stage Joshua’s rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. to a purpose built outdoor stadium in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia in December 2019. There are plans to build an indoor stadium for August 14, which are yet to be confirmed.