Deontay Wilder says Tyson Fury will suffer financial penalties and forfeit his WBC belt should he withdraw from their imminent trilogy fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 9.
The course of Fury-Wilder III has not run smoothly with the Gypsy King seeking to immediately move on from their rivalry after halting the Bronze Bomber in seven rounds in February 2020. Fury had previously seemed unfortunate to draw with Wilder in December 2018 despite rising from two knockdowns.
WBC heavyweight king Fury instead pursued a lucrative, undisputed heavyweight title clash with WBA Super, WBO and IBF belt holder Anthony Joshua, but that mega-fight was halted in its tracks when Wilder won an arbitration case, enforcing a previously contracted trilogy fight. Fury’s team had contested the terms of that contract had expired, but Wilder was vindicated for pursuing his claim.
Fury-Wilder III was then scheduled for July 24 only for the WBC champion to withdraw after testing positive for Covid-19, further heightening tensions between the rivals. A new date of October 9 was subsequently announced with Wilder insisting Fury will pay a heavy price if he withdraws again.
“If he don’t show up he’s gonna have to suffer the consequences, the penalties that’ve been set forth. If he don’t fight, then pay me what you’re supposed to pay me. Then you have to give up that [WBC] belt as well,” Wilder told 78SportsTV.
“So it’s a win-win situation for me, it’s a lose-lose situation for him. That’s the great thing about it because the saying has always said that history repeats itself.
“We know his actions are always the same, he’s done this many times where he tries to get out of fights. He has had a door to escape from. But at this moment in time he has no more doors, no options. He has to put up or shut up, fight or retire. Either fight and give me my money or give up that belt. It’s a win-win situation for me and with that being said I can sleep at night.
“We had go to court through arbitration just to get this fight. They always talk about how easy the [second] fight was but they really know what the real was. If it was so easy, we wouldn’t be going through this. I don’t think any other fighter would have to go through this, but being that it’s me and how dangerous I am they try to avoid me. Which is okay, it boosts my confidence even more. These guys avoid me so much, it’s sickening for the sport.”