September 22, 2018
Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have agreed a date for their highly anticipated meeting and will contest the WBC heavyweight world title on 1 December in the US.
Fury first announced he would take on Wilder, the defending champion, after the Briton’s points victory over Francesco Pianeta in August. Now the date has been set with a venue in Las Vegas.
The promotional tour for the fight will begin in London on 1 October, before calling at New York and Los Angeles. The 32-year-old Wilder will have held the WBC title for almost four years when he meets Fury, with both fighters boasting undefeated records. Fury has previously held the unified WBA, WBO and IBO world titles after beating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, but vacated the belts a year later.
The bout with Wilder will be the third fight of Fury’s comeback after a two-and-a-half-year absence from the ring, but the 30-year-old was typically bullish in a video uploaded to Instagram after the date was confirmed. “Deontay Wilder, you are going to get it and you are in big trouble,” he said. “I have never met a man I couldn’t beat in the boxing ring or outside on the street. I know you have got a big punch and I know you are unbeaten. I know you have got a big mouth and I know you want to win, but you don’t want it like I do. You can’t beat me. I will force my will upon you until you quit, and that is a promise.”
Wilder was more measured a video to his Twitter account, saying: “I can’t wait. It is going to be an exciting fight, an explosive fight, and one for the legacy.
“You’ve got the WBC heavyweight champion of the world versus the lineal champion. It is going to be a pleasure,” he added.
“The two best heavyweights, competing against each other, the best fighting the best, and giving the people what they want. This is what we’re doing.”