Heavyweight Boxing Golden Era Returns. And - What A Mess!

Three elite heavyweights, Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua = three exclusive deals = three fights no one cares about.

• Tyson Fury vs Tom Schwarz June 15th @ Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on ESPN
• Deontay Wilder vs Dominic Breazeale May 18th at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York, USA on Showtime
• Anthony Joshua vs Jarrell Miller June 1st @ Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA on DAZN

A big fight in 2019? Not going to happen…WHY?

Because this is boxing and boxing always gets in its own way. This past February, Tyson Fury, signed an exclusive five fights deal with ESPN & Top Rank Promotions for a reported $80M. Meanwhile Anthony Joshua is signed to the DAZN streaming service in the US. Deontay Wilder fights under Premier Boxing Champions & Showtime umbrella.

What does that mean? It mean Fury, Wilder and Joshua will not fight each other in 2019 and possibly in 2020. Tyson Fury's new US co-promoter Bob Arum has declared there is a plan for a Deontay Wilder rematch, but not until February 2020. That’s a target date and that’s IF Tyson Fury & Wilder don’t lose before their rematch. The rematch fight is appears to be on the back burner however it looks like if the rematch happens its the first time that we see Wilder as an underdog. Bet on boxing to see the the betting lines for upcoming fights like the big rematch.

Where does this leave Anthony Joshua? Maybe a late 2020 fight with Fury or Wilder… MAYBE? Remember DAZN does not do PPV events and Top Rank will not make this fight unless its a PPV event.

Fury, Wilder and Anthony Joshua are with different TV and streaming networks. Doubts have been raised about the chances of big fights being made. Remember Mayweather (Showtime) vs Pacquiao (Top Rank- HBO)? Its been a long while since we had a golden heavyweight era that many of us were waiting for and now we have network and promoter conflicts.

Solution?

Not Really… If fighters, their promoters and the various television platforms somehow find a way to work together. That’s very unlikely. Wait until all their contacts with these networks end? Let’s hope they don’t lose and boxing fans lose interest.

Boxing Fans

Once again we lose.. We always lose. We stay in the fight for the love and passion of the sport but we always lose.