COVID-19 is ruining one of boxing’s biggest fights.
Tyson Fury, and multiple members of his camp, have tested positive for the virus, causing his heavyweight title fight with Deontay Wilder to be postponed, according to ESPN. Fury and Wilder were set to duke it out on July 24 in Las Vegas in the third and final of their trilogy. The preferred date to reschedule the fight is Oct. 9 back at T-Mobile Arena.
Fury and Wilder first fought each other in December 2018. Though Fury seemed to get the better of Wilder, including two knockdowns, the fight ended in a draw. It was a different story the second time around, in February 2020.
In that second fight, Fury, known as “The Gypsy King,” dominated, forcing two knockdowns in just seven rounds. By the end of the seventh, Wilder had enough. His cornerman, Mark Breland, forfeited by throwing in the towel.
Since the second fight, neither of the two has faced another opponent, though Wilder remained focused on a rematch with Fury. Wilder exercised his right to one last fight with Fury, but the pandemic made it nearly impossible to schedule it.
“It was a crazy roller coaster toward this fight,” Fury said last month. “I always say, ‘You’re never fighting someone until you’re in the ring opposite them.’ ”
Ensuring these two get in the ring again should be extremely lucrative. Their second fight made $16.9 million in revenue at the gate, a Nevada record for a heavyweight title bout, and approximately $72 million in pay-per-view buys.