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Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury agree to terms for heavyweight title fight later this year in U.S.

Fighters Network
17
Aug

Deontay Wilder is on the brink of finally securing a high-profile heavyweight title fight.

The Bronze Bomber exchanged verbal barbs with Tyson Fury on Friday in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and if the Brit wins as expected, they’ll meet in the ring this fall.

The sides for Wilder and Fury have agreed to terms for a heavyweight championship fight that would be staged in either November or December in the U.S,  a source with knowledge of the deal told The Ring.

The deal is contingent on Fury scoring a victory over journeyman Francesco Pianeta on Saturday, and Wilder will be ringside to watch with keen interest. Neither side has signed the contract yet.



The matchup, which will headline a Showtime Pay-Per-View, will pit Wilder, the WBC heavyweight titleholder from Alabama, against Fury, the charismatic lineal champion from England.

Fury won the championship with an upset decision victory over Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, but cocaine addiction and a battle with depression sidelined him until last month.

He finally returned with a fourth-round stoppage of Sefer Seferi, and Fury will knock off some more rust when he meets Pianeta in a bout streamed on Showtime.

Fury tipped the scales at 258 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in, 18 pounds less than he came in for his last fight.

He once weighed over 350 pounds, but he slowly worked his way back into shape.

Wilder is coming off the biggest win of his career, a 10th-round come-from-behind stoppage of contender Luis Ortiz in March.

Mike Coppinger is the Senior Writer for RingTV.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger

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