Boxing Fans Kept Waiting for Undisputed Heavyweight Bout Actioned by Wilder Rematch Clause

There is yet another bump in the road on the path to having an undisputed world heavyweight champion in boxing.

Deontay Wilder always had the option of another rematch with Tyson Fury to make their memorable rivalry into a trilogy of bouts, but exercising his right for them to clash again only delays what fans of the sport want to see most.

In other weight classifications, the boxing super series to determine unified or undisputed champs have injected extra interest into fights. The heavyweight division is the pinnacle of pro boxing, but now Fury v. Wilder 3 is set to take place before the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, where the amateurs take center stage, and that means no summer showdown with all the gold on the line.

The familiar refrain about boxing politics and contracts results in yet another missed opportunity. Fans want to know once and for all who the best heavyweight of the current era is, but will they ever get to find out?

Fury and fellow British boxer Anthony Joshua are the two with the biggest claims to that. Wilder hadn’t really put a foot wrong in his entire career before twice being floored by Fury, and his camp threw in the towel during round seven of their return bout in February.

With Fury Wilder 3 now set for July, the sport’s other world heavyweight champion Joshua will face the mandatory IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev in London in June. The pair were originally meant to clash in the fall of 2017, but injury prevented the veteran Bulgarian boxer from getting his title shot.

In a way, it’s only fair that Pulev gets another chance. Joshua, who, like Wilder, has only one defeat in the paid ranks that he has since avenged and put behind him, is likely to be a strong favorite for that encounter.

After an infamous draw and Fury victory, the boxing betting on the third bout between him and Wilder can only really have “The Gypsy King” as fancied. Even after having excuses of heavy legs after wearing a weighty costume on his walk to the ring aside, Wilder is still a dangerous underdog in the market at odds of 5/2 with British bookmakers bet365.

There is something compelling about “The Bronze Bomber” and Fury, but their second bout was so one-sided you can’t help but wonder about the wisdom of a third fight. A remarkable change in style from his opponent seemed to catch Wilder off-guard.

Fury can only pull off such a surprise once, though. Beating Wilder at his own big-hitting game is going to have hurt the American’s pride as much as his body.

All the while, Joshua seemingly waits in the wings with previously mooted, and hoped for, undisputed championship matches falling by the wayside. If we are to see one with fellow Brit Fury before 2020 is out, then “AJ” is a betting outsider, on the strength of that sole pro career defeat to Andy Ruiz, JR. last year.

There remains a few ifs, buts, and maybes, yet the appetite for an undisputed world heavyweight champion is stronger than ever.