ESPN reports that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have signed a two-fight deal to unify the heavyweight titles.
The 32-year-old Fury is 29-0-1 and last fought in February 2020 when he stopped Deontay Wilder in the seventh round. Fury won the WBC and vacant, The Ring title. Joshua, 24-1, fought in December and knocked out Kubrat Pulev in the 9th round to retain the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
Breaking: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua have signed a two-fight deal to unify the heavyweight titles, ESPN has learned 🥊 pic.twitter.com/fE7sNGpWRr
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 15, 2021
The big question will be who will be promoting the fight and where it will take place. The middle east seems like a destination for at least one of the fights due to the amount of money that they will pay for the event. Another destination could be a stadium in the U.K. or Wales. Presumably, the fights would take place at a time when fans would be able to attend.
Payout Perspective:
There is still a long way to go in these negotiations as to how it will be promoted and where it will be. The two-fight deal leaves negotiation for a third fight which could be huge if the two split which is likely the scenario the negotiators left open. The announcement will spur a lot of buzz back to the heavyweight division with Fury, Joshua and Deontay Wilder holding out during the pandemic on a fight. Notably, Fury announced he had stopped training. But, that could be seen as tactic to facilitate a fight deal to be done. Unifying the heavyweight titles should be big business and amplify the sport of boxing to more mainstream fans yet again.
This is good news for the sport and should bring some fans back! I think one should be in the UK at a stadium, and one of the fights here, perhaps in Dallas at Jerry’s home. As a Dazn subscriber, I hope that the USA viewership is there!