Trilogy will happen in July
Photo: Special to the NY Beacon
By Joshua Garcia
Not long after the most anticipated heavyweight championship fight in years finished with a lopsided victory for Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder atop a medical table in the MGM Grand lockerroom sat silent in thought staring at the ceiling. Only Deontay knows exactly what thoughts were rushing through the mind of the former champion, but surely the words rematch and trilogy were seen clearly through his mind’s eye.
At no point since their meeting on Feb. 22nd has Deontay Wilder thought about entering the ring with anyone other than the six foot nine inch British fighter who stole not only his WBC belt but more importantly, his identity. Wilder and his team couldn’t invoke their contractual option for an immediate rematch from the second fight quick enough, and with the largest gate revenue in heavyweight history, Top Rank Promotions and Tyson Fury gave little resistance to a third chapter.
Trilogies are saved for a special class of matchup in the sport of Boxing, and one must think about why such legendary installments come about in the first place. Fact is, there are some matchups so close and exciting that the boxing public demands to see rounds 13-24, and further require rounds 25-36. Imagine that Manny Pacquaio and Juan Manuel Marquez fought an amazing four fights in their historic rivalry and the public to this day clamors for a fifth fight between the two legends.
Trilogies such as Arturo Gatti and Mickey Ward, Erik Morales and Marco Antonio Barrera, Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran, and the great Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, possibly the most riveting 41 rounds of a trilogy ever seen set the bar for what anyone who laces up the gloves dreams to be a part of. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will now look to put their names in the history books as the third fight has been made official by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum for July 18th again at the MGM Grand and not the new Las Vegas Raiders Stadium as had been discussed in negotiations.
Deontay Wilder will be on the hunt for a few new members of his team after blaming his first career loss on everything under the sun: his uniform, his ring walk, and finally and most diappointingly, his renowned cornerman Mark Breland. Breland was fired for throwing in the towel to stop the punishment of his fighter at the hands of Tyson Fury in a fight he couldn’t possibly win and therefore had no reason to continue to be in. Breland, who was a large part of the rise of Deontay Wilder and whom will no longer be part of the process that got Wilder to this level in the sport, causes concern that his abscence greatly adds to even more uncertainty about what kind of Deontay Wilder we will see come July 18th in the desert.
Boxing trilogies are alot like movie trilogies, the first was so good you have to see a second, but the second disappointed, so you have to see the third to make up for that flop right? Right. Not to mention, it is happening whether you want it to or not.
Possibly the biggest loser, if you will, in this situation is Anthony Joshua who sits in the UK with the IBF WBO and WBA Belts hoping for a unification possibility in 2020. It may not be early in the year, but boxing fans may find a nice Christmas present under the tree come December 2020, when Fury and Joshua finally meet in Wembley Stadium.
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