Tyson Fury confirms Deontay Wilder fight is OFF and ‘I’ve moved on’ to face Anthony Joshua in blockbuster 2021 clash
TYSON FURY has confirmed that he has ditched his planned trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder.
The Gypsy King claimed organisers failed to deliver a date for the event in 2020 and he is now free to deliver an all-British heavyweight unification showdown with Anthony Joshua next year.
He told : “I was looking forward to smashing Wilder again. A quick and easy fight.
“But Wilder and his team were messing around with the date. They don’t really want to fight the lineal heavyweight champion.
“They know how it ends. The world knows how it will end: with Wilder on his ass again.
“Then they asked me if I would agree to push it to December. I agreed to Dec 19.
“Then they tried to change the date again into next year. I’ve been training. I’m ready. When they tried moving off Dec 19 and pushing to next year, enough was enough. I’ve moved on.
“I am the best fighter in the world. The lineal heavyweight champion. The two-time Ring magazine heavyweight champion. The WBC heavyweight champion.
“And before the end of 2021, I will be the only man on this earth with a heavyweight championship belt.”
Fury's annoucement comes just a day after his promoter Bob Arum confirmed the plan was for the WBC king to fight in the UK in December, then face AJ in April or May 2021.
Wilder and his team were messing around with the date. They don’t really want to fight the lineal heavyweight champion. They know how it ends. The world knows how it will end: with Wilder on his ass again.
Tyson Fury
Most read in Boxing
When asked if the Gypsy King would be fighting Wilder, he told : “That’s up to Tyson because if we can’t, as appears to be the case, put on Wilder vs Fury this year, Tyson wants to keep busy and we are going to accommodate him.
“Then next year, assuming Joshua beats Pulev, we can look forward to a Fury vs Joshua fight.”
However, SunSport can reveal that Fury's attempt to scrap the Wilder trilogy has not been ratified by the WBC.
The undefeated British ace dethroned the American in February to secure the iconic green and gold belt.
But Wilder's team claim there is no truth to the 'expired contract' line and the bout is going ahead as planned.
The WBC has been a staunch supporter of Fury's, sanctioning his original shock December 2018 bid for their title after he had gone three years without a competitive fight - that ended in a controversial draw.
The Mexico-based body also stood firmly by the Morecambe man when he was briefly accused of tampering with an Anti-Doping case in March.
But SunSport understands neither Fury nor Wilder has informed the WBC of any plans to cancel their third showdown.
And, most significantly, the sanctioning giant has not given their blessing for Fury to defend his title against any other fighter in December.
Fury and WBC boss Maurico Sulaiman appear to have a close friendship, following emotional meetings in the ring after each Wilder clash.
But Wilder's co-promoter Al Haymon also appears to have a close working relationship with the organisation, with a number of his high-profile talents holding their honours.
Fury's UK promoter Frank Warren said on Saturday: "I don't know if that fight can get on this year.
"Promoters on both sides, we have worked very hard to make it happen, but it's looking like it will not happen.
"There's talk about it happening next year. Tyson has been training like a lot of guys solidly since February, and he wants to fight this year.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
"My concern is Tyson's welfare and well-being, and delivering what he wants, so he will fight this year.
"Contractual commitments are what they are, but contracts do not go on forever, and if the fight cannot be delivered within the contractual period, Tyson will move on and maybe revisit the fight another time."
