The rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury is on.
It's been known for a while that Wilder and Fury would fight once again for the WBC heavyweight title on February 22, but the rematch had yet to be formally announced. Wilder posted the following tweet indicating that the rematch will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on February 22, followed by an official announcement from both Top Rank and PBC. The event will be distributed on FOX Sports pay-per-view and ESPN+ pay-per-view.
After February 22nd there will be no more unanswered questions. I will finish what I started, and this time @Tyson_Fury will not be getting up off that canvas so quickly. I’ve proven myself time and time again and I will do it again in February. #WilderFury2 pic.twitter.com/GkYSzNCBAU
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) December 27, 2019
The two heavyweight stars fought in December 2018 in the main event of a pay-per-view card in Los Angeles. After a thrilling bout that saw Wilder knock Fury down twice, the fight ended in a draw, meaning Wilder retained the WBC title.
After it seemed like the two boxers would have a rematch earlier this year, Fury opted to sign a promotional deal with Top Rank to fight on ESPN platforms in order to raise his profile in the United States to try and maximize the benefits a rematch against Wilder would yield. In the interim, both fighters fought twice with each coming out on top.
Wilder would retain his WBC title with a first-round knockout win over Dominic Breazeale in May and then a seventh-round knockout victory over Luis Ortiz in November. Fury, on the other hand, defeated a pair of unbeaten European heavyweights -- Tom Schwarz in June and Otto Wallin in September. After the win over Wallin, Fury had a brief run in WWE, making his in-ring debut at the Crown Jewel event in October, defeating Braun Strowman.
This would mark the first time FOX and ESPN worked together to secure a pay-per-view main event such as this one. It's not the first time opposing networks came together to share broadcasting duties for a big fight. Perhaps the most famous recent example of this was the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao superfight in 2015 that saw HBO and Showtime work together for the pay-per-view event. HBO and Showtime worked together once more in 2017 for the Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko fight, but that broadcast deal saw Showtime air the fight live in the afternoon with HBO showing the fight later that evening on a tape delay.
