The boxing world clamored for a rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury and now the WBC wants one too.
The governing body, whose heavyweight world title is being held by Wilder, unanimous voted to order a second fight between the two boxers, which took place less than a week after their first fight. The December 1 clash between the two heavyweights, which headlined a Showtime pay-per-view in Los Angeles, ended in a split draw after Alejandro Rochin scored the fight 115-111 in favor of Wilder, Robert Tapper scored the fight 112-114 in favor and Phil Edwards scored it a 113-113 draw.
Below is the full statement by the WBC regarding the matter:
The World Boxing Council conducted a voting through the Board of Governors, which resulted in a unanimous agreement to sanction a direct rematch between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
Wilder and Fury gave boxing one of the best fights in the heavyweight division in a long time, which has created tremendous popular demand for the fans to see a rematch.
The WBC is happy to confirm that a direct rematch has been approved and will create in a ruling which will also consider the mandatory status of the division.
After the fight, both men expressed interest in a rematch with Fury holding a press conference the day after the fight and Wilder hosting a media call days later. The pay-per-view is reportedly heading towards at least 300,000 buys, which would be a success for Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions.
As far as when a rematch would take place, Wilder has stated that he is okay with having the rematch sometime either in March or April. Stephen Espinoza, President of Sports and Event Programming for Showtime, said April would be a little too soon for a rematch and that he would rather have the rematch be done either in May or June.
Wilder has held the WBC title since 2015, making eight successful title defenses and winning seven of those defenses by knockout. Fury, a former unified heavyweight champion, fought in his first world title fight since defeating Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.