The outbreak of coronavirus in Tyson Fury’s camp extended to the champ himself.
It’s official: Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder 3 is not happening later this month.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger confirmed on Thursday that the WBC heavyweight champion was among those within his camp who’s tested positive for COVID-19. The July 24th trilogy with Wilder has now been pushed back, with October 9th as the new targeted date. It would still be held at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which was the site of their second meeting in 2020.
Dan Rafael reported that Fury received a first dose of the vaccine but not the second one, at which point he would’ve been considered fully vaccinated. While it’s unknown whether or not Fury tested positive for the delta variant of the coronavirus, studies have shown minimal protection for one-dose compared to two.
Neither Fury nor Wilder has fought since their second bout, and despite the efforts of Fury and Top Rank to squash the rematch clause and go for the Anthony Joshua fight, an arbitrator ruled in Wilder’s favor that the clause was still valid.
Just imagine what would’ve happened if Fury vs. Joshua was actually booked and this news of Fury’s positive test had surfaced.
It’s not been announced whether or not the entire undercard of Fury-Wilder 3 will also be moved to October.