The third fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 30-0-1 (21) and Deontay Wilder 42-1-1 (41) has been pushed back to October due to the global coronavirus pandemic.
The fight was scheduled to take place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 18.
Fury, 31, handed Wilder his first loss with a one-sided seven-round beatdown at the same venue last month after previously settling for a controversial draw against the 34-year-old American in Los Angeles 16 months earlier.
Wilder enacted his immediate rematch clause following the loss.
Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum confirmed to ESPN that the original date would not be going ahead.
“Clearly not,” Arum said. “We don’t even know if the MGM will be open by then. You could not guarantee the fighters that the event would take place on that date. We couldn’t convince them or ourselves.
“Where were they going to train for it? It just made no sense. You just have to take a step back. How are you going to sell tickets? It’s absolutely ridiculous to say the fight is on when the Brits can’t even get there.
“So everybody has to take a step back. Boxing is not isolated. It’s part of what’s happening in the world. So possibly the fight will be in early October.”
Frank Warren, who co-promotes Fury alongside Arum, said: “Tyson’s got Deontay’s number, even if they fought in 10 years.”
Meanwhile, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn had revealed he remains hopeful a four-belt unification bout between Fury and WBA, IBF and WBO champion Anthony Joshua 23-1 (21) before the end of the year.
Joshua is scheduled to make a mandatory title defence against Kubrat Pulev at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on June 20.
“Well I think, all of a sudden, does the Joshua-Fury fight start taking priority, maybe over a Pulev fight, if the Pulev fight extends beyond the summer? There’s so much that could happen right now,” Hearn told Sky Sports last week.
“I mean anything is possible, but contractually Deontay Wilder is going to want his fight next, whether that’s in July or whether there’s a force majeure that takes that to October, November wherever.”
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