Deontay Wilder wants to capitalize on his Pay-Per-View draw with Tyson Fury but doesn’t believe making fans pay to watch him in every fight is the way to go.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ had lined up a rematch with Fury on May 18th in New York. Wilder v Fury II was earmarked for Showtime and BT Sport’s paid platforms respectively.
Due to Fury signing an exclusive TV deal in the US with ESPN, the deal collapsed at the last minute.
Wilder was then forced to turn to his American rival Dominic Breazeale in order to meet mandatory requirements laid down by the World Boxing Council.
Remaining on Showtime PPV was an option, although as Wilder explained, he felt the Breazeale fight was a level below charging extra.
“I didn’t feel like this fight was a PPV fight. Its not a special fight its not a fight that you would miss your rent to go see. I don’t feel like this fight is that type of situation,” Wilder said.
“For me, I don’t want people paying more than what they have to pay. I’m the peoples champion. And I’m not trying to take more than what is due to me. I’m not trying to gain an extra dollar.
“I want to be fair to the people and the people to be fair to me.”
He continued: “I’m the realist fighter in the business. I don’t know how many times I got to keep saying it. But I keep proving it.
“I guess I got to do it to the end of my career, something which I don’t have any problem with. Right now, I don’t have a choice but I’m going to have a lot of people who are satisfied.
“I’m also going to have a lot of people who are not (due to the Fury fight falling apart). To the ones who are satisfied I thank you so much for the support. Let’s keep riding,” added the WBC champion.
SKY SPORTS
Sky Sports moved to pick up Wilder v Breazeale for themselves as BT Sport have exclusivity with Fury. This means Wilder will get the chance to feature on the same network as Anthony Joshua once again.
Should Joshua v Wilder ever make it over the line, Sky Sports would hold UK broadcast fights to take the contest to their Box Office platform.
In regards to Fury coming back to the table, it’s anyone’s guess whether that can be salvaged in 2019.
