Tyson Fury will fight Deontay Wilder for a third time on July 24 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Fury and Wilder will come face-to-face at a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday at 9pm UK time.
Fury ripped away the WBC Heavyweight world title from his rival with a seventh round stoppage win in their rematch at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in February 2020, after the pair fought to a controversial split decision draw at Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Neither man has had a fight since the rematch, although Fury appeared on course for an undisputed title showdown with unified IBF, WBA ‘Super’ and WBO titlist, Anthony Joshua.
An all-British showdown was scuppered after an arbitrator ruled in favour of a trilogy between the ‘Gypsy King’, who also holds the coveted Ring Magazine title, and the ‘Bronze Bomber’.
It will mark the first major Heavyweight trilogy since Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield met for a third time in 1995.
How we got to Fury-Wilder III
Fury publicly announced on his social media channels on May 16 that he would be fighting Joshua after a conversation with a Saudi Prince, revealing that he bout would take place on August 14 in Saudi Arabia – with the region reportedly willing to put up a site fee of up to $150m, according to ESPN’s Mark Kriegel.
However, in the midst of negotiations for Joshua-Fury, Wilder and his team were looking to enforce a third clash with Fury, with the contract for the rematch reportedly giving the loser of the fight the opportunity to activate a clause for a third outing.
Having activated the rematch clause, the trilogy which was set to take place in Las Vegas in July, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A further date in October was shelved and a proposed December date also fell through, with a number of college football games falling around the same time, which both FOX and ESPN – the networks broadcasting the fight – informing Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum that it would not be possible to show the fight, according to BoxingScene.com.
Fury was then set for a homecoming fight in the UK in December, which fell through and his team insisted that the timeframe for a trilogy had passed.
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Wilder took his case to mediation and then to binding arbitration and retired judge Daniel Weinstein ordered a third fight to take place by no later than September 15 2021, as first reported by The Daily Star.
Fury-Wilder rivalry
In the aftermath of his first professional loss to Fury, Wilder cited his ring walk outfit in playing a part in weakening his legs.
Wilder’s brother, Marsellos then went onto accuse the Brit of tampering with his gloves, claiming that his brother, who was dropped twice in the fight, had a “dent in the side of his head to a blunt object” and that “no glove or fist was able to cause the damage according to the autopsy.”
Wilder himself broke his silence in a video posted on Instagram accusing Fury of glove tampering, as well as launching a scathing attack on his trainer Mark Breland alleging that he had spiked his water.
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The former WBC champion sacked Breland in the aftermath after he threw in the towel in the seventh round and has since linked-up with Malik Scott, whilst Jay Deas remains part of his team.
Following the allegations, Fury said in an interview that he would never give the Alabama man another opportunity to face him and even offered Breland the chance to work with him.
A fiery build-up between the staunch rivals is expected, with Fury heading in as a clear favourite to retain his belts.
Tickets go on sale TODAY, June 15 at 12 p.m. PT and can be purchased at www.t-mobilearena.com or ww
