Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder rematch official for February 22

The highly-anticipated rematch between heavyweight boxing stars Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder is official for February 22, 2020.

ESPN’s Dan Rafael confirmed that the fight is officially set for the date of February 22. The location is not finalized yet, but ESPN reports that the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada is the leading candidate to host the bout.

https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1199566893046206464

According to the report, Tyson Fury’s promoter Bob Arum at Top Rank said the fight will be co-promoted by ESPN, which has an exclusive deal with Top Rank, and FOX, which has a deal with Wilder’s promoter at Premier Boxing Champions.

Arum told ESPN that there will be an announcement of the location by Christmas but he confirmed the date is official.

The report says that the rematch between Fury and Wilder was signed months ago, but was made official when Wilder defeated Luis Ortiz last weekend via seventh-round KO. Wilder escaped the bout with no injuries whatsoever, making the February date possible.

Fury and Wilder first met in December 2018 in a very entertaining fight that saw Fury win the majority of the rounds before Wilder came on strong late and knocked Fury down, leading the judges to score the fight a split draw. Since then both fighters have picked up two wins, leading to this rematch between the two rivals.

Wilder’s last fight against Ortiz was held at MGM Grand Garden Arena so he is comfortable fighting there. According to Arum, the February 22 date made sense for both sides because they believe it will be the biggest and most important sporting event taking place at that time next month. When the fight finally happens, it’s expected to be one of the best heavyweight boxing title fights of all time.

Who do you think wins the rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 11/27/2019.