BEVERLY HILLS, May 18, (THEWILL) – Reactions continue to trail the arbitrator’s decision to effect the contractual obligation and enforce a trilogy of fights between British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury and American challenger from whom Fury won the WBC heavyweight title, Deontay Wilder, which effectively threatens the scheduled August 14 unification bout between Anthony Joshua and Fury.
The judgement from the arbitrator arrived about 24 hours after Fury went online to confirm that his highly-anticipated fight with Joshua was “100 percent on” for the second August weekend and who now must consider a Wilder rematch by September 15, according to the deadline set by the judge.
The unification bout was expected to be a huge payday for the pair of British heavyweight boxers as they recently secured about a $150 million site fee, enough to earn each fighter an astounding $75 million before the pay-per-view add-ons were included, which could nearly double that amount.
All this will be in danger of being lost with the ruling from the arbitrator forcing Fury into another Wilder fight. Although it implies that their big money will not materialise as initially scheduled, if Fury engages Wilder in a WBC title fight, in a bout that does not have the same pull as a unification fight against Joshua, he will still make a lot of money, and fans interested in the trilogy will give it extra cash.
It leaves Joshua to seek options of his own, especially with an eye on the WBC belt and his desire to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. His options go from safe to risky in the heavyweight class of boxers he can take on in the interim while he awaits the winner of the Fury-Wilder trilogy.
As a boxer who has tasted the bitter vial of defeat, Joshua will be looking at minimising the chances of losing again in his desire to stay in shape while looking forward to the unification fight. However, unlike other heavyweights who seek fights with lesser challenging prospects, Joshua has always demonstrated an aptitude for an opponent in the higher rankings of the division.
This leaves him the choice of three possible alternatives. In a like for like manner as the Fury-Wilder trilogy, Joshua could engage a trilogy of his own and take on Andy Ruiz, who beat him to his titles until their rematch restored the belts to Joshua’s name. But, because Joshua won through judges’ decision compared to the knockout he suffered against Ruiz, the balance of their fights is skewed in Ruiz’s favour.
Joshua can put that right in the shape he is now and regain the stock his brand lost from the Ruiz takedown by going for a resounding knockout as well against a much better-looking Ruiz, who has appeared fitter recently, having added some muscle mass.
On the other hand, in place of the British heavyweight Fury, Joshua could fight another British heavyweight Dillian Whyte for a second go between both fighters. The two faced off in 2015, very early in each of their careers. It was a very competitive fight, one that saw Whyte hurt Joshua before eventually getting stopped. Since then, Whyte’s stock has risen especially after he avenged his shocking loss to Alexander Povetkin in March as reported by THEWILL.
Because Whyte has one of the best resumes in the division, it will be a massive bout across boxing circles but most especially in the UK. Whyte will be a good option for Joshua in the form that he presently is where he has been in training for the potential Fury fight and Whyte deserves another fight with the antecedents of their previous one in mind.
Then, there is the alternative with the highest risk factor of the first two but with the least reward: Joshua could consider fighting Oleksandr Usyk, the best cruiserweight since Evander Holyfield, who moved up to heavyweight two years ago even though he remains quite undersized.
He has demonstrated that size is not all that matters with his slick boxing already rewarding him with a record 2-0 in the division illustrating why he is considered the best pure boxer in the class. It will be risky because, allowed to take it to twelve rounds, he will outbox Joshua easily for the biggest win of his career.
But for Usyk’s decision to step aside to make the Joshua-Fury unification bout happen, he was the mandatory for the WBO belt that Joshua owns. With the arbitrator’s decision to force a Fury-Wilder trilogy pushing back the unification fight, the WBO could enforce this mandatory, putting Joshua in a fix because if he loses the WBO title against Usyk, for instance, that will be the end of the massive payday in the bout with Fury as there will be no unification.
In addition to that, if the WBO enforces the mandatory and Joshua elects to refuse the fight, he runs the risk of being stripped of the title, which ends up with the same consequence as it takes away the allure of a Fury-Joshua fight, which would no longer be a unification fight, the very highlight of their bout and the cause of all the anticipation.
However, all these might end up being unnecessary for only one reason and it all depends on Wilder. Although he was the one who pushed for a litigation of his chance at a trilogy with Fury based on the contract, he can be paid off to step aside to allow the unification bout the whole world wants to happen.
For this to come to pass would require a massive step-aside fee. Knowing how much the entire plot now depends on his decision gives Wilder the upper hand in negotiating such a fee and, most likely, whatever he gets will come from that huge $150 million site fee, shortening what may be left for Joshua and Fury by a bit.
The story continues to unfold by the hour with all parties considering their next moves. What is certain at the moment is that regardless of how each part plays its card, some great fights are on the horizon in the heavyweight division for eagerly awaiting boxing fans who will be the beneficiaries in the end.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
