TIME FOR AN UNDISPUTED CHAMPION

All eyes are now firmly on an undisputed heavyweight blockbuster between newly crowned WBC champion Tyson Fury and fellow Brit Anthony Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO belts. It’s been over 20 years since the fans witnessed a undisputed heavyweight battle and it’s no more than they deserve.

Wilder, who was not hospitalised but needed stiches for a small cut to his ear, now has 30 days to execute a rematch clause which he is contactually entitled to. The way that Fury dominated the rematch suggests a trilogy would be less favoured by the boxing world and would be a hard sell to the fans, especially with the prospect of an undisputed clash with Anthony Joshua.

The ‘Gypsy King’ landed 82 punches in the fight compared to the ‘Bronze Bombers’ 34 (Compubox) and it was Wilders co-trainer Mark Breland who acted alone and against the wishes of the fighter and head trainer Jay Deas in throwing in the towel. “Mark threw in the towel,” Deas said. “I didn’t think he should have. Deontay is the kind of guy that’s a ‘go out on his shield kind of guy’ and he will tell you straight up, don’t throw the towel in. You always have to consider Deontay is a fearsome puncher. He always has that shot to land a big shot and turn things around.” Deas went on to say he expects Deontay to take the rematch.

Despite being battered and bruised, Wilder insisted he could have fought on. “I had a lot of things going on coming into this fight. My leg was already weak coming in due to other things but I make no excuses tonight, I just wish that my corner would have let me [go] out on my shield. I’m a warrior…Even the greatest have lost and come back.”

Fury is sure Wilder will want the rematch but believes the result will be the same. “I’ve always believed if he couldn’t beat me when I was 50 percent of the man I am today, he never had a chance [Saturday] night. I can’t wait for the exit fight, a rematch hopefully, if he wants it.”

If Wilder decides not to take the rematch option, Fury’s potential opponent other than Joshua is to take on the WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte, who has been patiently waiting, racked up 11 consecutive victories and is entitled to a shot of the WBC world title by February 2021.

Promoter Frank Warren told Talk Sport on Sunday “Anthony Joshua has to fight Pulev, they have more or less agreed terms and I understand they are going to announce that next week. They better pull him out the Pulev fight because I’m a little bit worried that if Pulev hits him on the chin, he may stop him. He [Fury] is now the undisputed number 1, anybody who knows anything about boxing, knows he’s the number 1. Anthony Joshua was badly exposed in New York against Ruiz, he won the title back in good style but he won it against a guy who trained in his larder. We will make the [Joshua] fight and we’ve got no problem with 50/50, Tyson’s not greedy. But you need to ask Hearn what is happening with the Pulev fight – are they going to do it, or not? It [Fury vs Joshua] would be the biggest sporting event Britain’s seen since England won the World Cup!”

As well as promoting Fury, Bob Arum also promotes Kubrat Pulev which means there could be the possibilty of manouvering fights around if Wilder doesn’t accept and go straight into the undisputed fight in the summer. As well as a mandatory with Pulev planned for June, Joshua is also obligated to defend against WBO mandatory Oleksandr Usyk later in the year which adds more complexity in reaching the ultimate goal of an undisputed champion.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told Talk Sport that he has spoken to AJ and he wants to go into this fight next. Hearn confirmed Joshua will do ‘everything’ to make the Tyson Fury fight happen after the Brit beat Deontay Wilder in their rematch. “We have to make this fight happen. We will never, ever get the chance for two Brits to fight for an undisputed heavyweight world championship. I promise you we will do everything we can to make this fight. It has to happen.”