Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury heavyweight showdown set for Dec. 1
Where it will be remains a mystery, but there’s finally a date for the heavyweight showdown between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.
Wilder and Fury will meet Dec. 1 for Wilder’s WBC title, Premier Boxing Champions announced Friday. The location will be announced next week, according to the release.
A three-city promotional tour will start Oct. 1 in London, with stops in New York City and Los Angeles.
Initially, Showtime and promoters of both fighters had plans for T-Mobile Arena to host the megabout in November until unforeseen snags occurred. T-Mobile Arena wasn’t available Dec. 1 because of a Justin Timberlake concert.
Mandalay Bay Events Center and Staples Center in Los Angeles are the front-runner venues to land arguably the biggest heavyweight fight in the U.S. in almost 15 years.
Rumors surfaced that Wilder-Fury could be put on hold or taken off Showtime pay-per-view after Floyd Mayweather announced his comeback last week. Mayweather said he wanted to return in December for a rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
With Wilder-Fury staying on Showtime PPV, Mayweather-Pacquiao probably will be in 2019.
Joshua opens DAZN USA
Sports streaming service DAZN debuts in the U.S. on Saturday for Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight title defense against Alexander Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in London.
Coverage for Joshua-Povetkin starts at 1:30 p.m. on DAZN (pronounced The Zone). The $9.99 per month app is offering a one-month free trial.
Joshua, the WBA/WBO/IBF champion, stepped on the scale Friday at 246.5 pounds, and Povetkin weighed 220.
“Povetkin is one of my toughest challengers to date, so that’s where my focus has been,” said Joshua, 28. “My body has been broken down and rebuilt back up through this camp like never before.”
Most fans were hoping to see Joshua (21-0, 20 knockouts) take on Wilder this weekend. Joshua vowed this week that the Wilder bout will eventually happen.
Sin City Showdown
Junior welterweights Cameron Krael and Jose Borrego headline Mayweather Promotions’ “Sin City Showdown” card Saturday at Sam’s Town.
Krael, a Hawaii native living in Las Vegas, said he wants to outbox Borrego, a rising prospect from Mexico.
“I know that my opponent likes to brawl and switches a lot,” Krael said. “(I’ll) use my jab, box him, not brawl.”
In the co-main event, unbeaten junior lightweight prospect Xavier Martinez faces Oscar Bravo in an eight-round bout.
Coverage on Mayweather Promotions’ Facebook page starts at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $15 and are available at samstownlv.com/entertain.
Murata tickets
Tickets are on sale for Ryota Murata’s Oct. 20 middleweight title defense at the Park Theater inside Park MGM.
The Japanese sensation is facing Rob Brant. Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com or MGM Resorts box offices.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.
Pound-for-pound list
R-J boxing writer Gilbert Manzano’s updated top 10 pound-for-pound fighters after Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s signature victory against Gennady Golovkin last week at T-Mobile Arena. HBO will replay the Alvarez-Golovkin rematch at 7:05 p.m. Saturday:
1. Vasiliy Lomachenko
2. Terence Crawford
3. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez
4. Mikey Garcia
5. Errol Spence
6. Gennady Golovkin
7. Srisaket Sor Rungvisai
8. Naoya Inoue
9. Oleksandr Usyk
10. Anthony Joshua
