Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua in jeopardy after an arbitrator rules Deontay Wilder is owed a third fight

Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua on August 14 is in jeopardy of not happening.

On Sunday, Fury said his heavyweight unification fight was 100 percent official for August 14 in Saudi Arabia. However, on Monday, an arbitrator ruled Fury must face Deontay Wilder in a rematch by Sept. 15, ESPN learned.

After their first fight ended in a draw, Fury and Wilder signed a two-fight deal. Yet, after Fury won by TKO and time passed due to the pandemic, his side claimed the trigger date for the trilogy passed. Yet, that appears to not be the case.

The good news for Fury is that former federal judge Daniel Weinstein, who served as the arbitrator, declined to award Wilder any monetary damages and allowed for the possibility that Fury and Wilder could agree to an extension. If the two sides do agree to an extension, and Wilder allows Fury vs. Joshua to happen he would be in line to receive a sizeable paycheque coming from the record-breaking, $155 million site fee from Saudi Arabia.

Image: Showtime Boxing on Instagram

The ruling follows months of litigation and four days of testimony, including from Fury and Wilder.

The news should not be surprising as Bob Arum, who is Fury’s U.S. promoter, had already reserved Allegiant Stadium on July 24 in Las Vegas for the trilogy. But, that was mostly in case contract negotiations with Joshua broke down, but this was always a possibility.

Tyson Fury hasn’t fought since February of 2020 when he TKO’d Deontay Wilder in a very one-sided fight. The bout against Joshua was going to be one of the biggest boxing fights of all time as it would unify the heavyweight division once again. It’s also a fight between two of the best during their prime and when they should be fighting.

What do you make of Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua being in jeopardy after an arbitrator rules Deontay Wilder is owed a third fight?