A day after Tyson Fury tweeted that his heavyweight unification fight with Anthony Joshua was “100 percent on” for Aug. 14 in Saudi Arabia, an arbitrator ruled Monday that Fury must face Deontay Wilder in a rematch by Sept. 15, ESPN has learned.
In granting Wilder’s injunction, former federal judge Daniel Weinstein declined to award Wilder — who initiated the action — any monetary damages and allowed for the possibility that Fury and Wilder could agree to an extension. Such an extension would involve a hefty step-aside fee for Wilder, likely coming from the record-breaking, $155 million site fee negotiated for the Aug. 14 fight with Joshua in Saudi Arabia.
However, Fury’s American promoter, Bob Arum, said he would abide by the arbitrator’s ruling.
“We’re not paying Wilder to step aside,” Arum told ESPN on Monday. “It’s better to get rid of him and go about our business. We can make the Fury-Joshua fight for November or December.”
In granting Deontay Wilder’s injunction, former federal judge Daniel Weinstein declined to award Wilder any monetary damages and allowed for the possibility that Fury and Wilder could agree to an extension. (via @MarkKriegel)
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— ESPN Ringside (@ESPNRingside) May 17, 2021
I have confirmed via multiple sources that the arbitrator, retired federal judge Daniel Weinstein, has ruled in Deontay Wilder’s favor in case with Tyson Fury. In the opinion, he writes Fury must face Wilder a 3rd time before Sept. 15 unless parties make a deal otherwise. (more)
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) May 17, 2021