By: Sean Crose
Tyson Fury has declared that he’s going to rematch fellow undefeated heavyweight Deontay Wilder on February 22nd of 2020. “The rematch,” the 28-0-1 Englishman said this past Sunday at the Alhambra Theater in Britain, “has been confirmed and signed, 22 February.” First, however, the 41-0-1 Wilder must get past Luis Ortiz, who gave the hard hitting American fits when they first met in 2018. Wilder ended up with the stoppage win that night, however, and few are coming out and saying he’ll lose the second fight with Ortiz. Should Wilder win when he meets Ortiz again in September, the road may indeed be clear for a second throw down with the colorful Fury.
No official announcement has been made, however, and a request to Wilder co-trainer Mark Breland for confirmation has not (yet) been returned. Fury, however, has made the step of actually naming a date, an odd thing to do if the entire matter were simply based on conjecture. “It’s on, the rematch,” Fury added on Sunday. Fury’s last match was a blowout of Tom Schwarz this past June in Las Vegas. A second fight with Wilder is an event fans have been salivating for after the two first met last December.
At stake was Wilder’s WBC heavyweight crown and perhaps the lineal heavyweight championship, as well (Fury became lineal champ after he bested Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, before temporarily retiring from the sport). Although he was dropped in the bout, Fury looked to be on his way to a fairly clear win when, in the 12th and final round, Wilder sent him to the mat with an absolutely thunderous shot. To the shock of just about everyone, Fury got back on his feet and performed very well for the remainder of the round. The shot heard round the boxing world, however, gave Wilder enough points to earn a draw against the colorful Englishman.
What made Fury’s performance in Los Angeles that evening all the more impressive was the fact that Fury had come back from a downward spiral of drugs, alcohol, and depression to not only perform adequately in the ring against Wilder, but to perform truly well. It all begged for a rematch. “”This time,” said Fury, “I haven’t been out the ring for a year. This time, I haven’t been abusing too much alcohol, and this time I’m going to knock him the fuck out.”