Fury lands £80m TV deal – but it threatens to KO AJ and Wilder fights

Tyson Fury has landed a television deal worth an astonishing £80million but which casts a doubt over his proposed world heavyweight title mega-fights with Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Frank Warren’s deal with US network ESPN for a string of Fury’s next fights is a huge financial coup but conflicts with the TV contracts to which reigning world champions Joshua and Wilder are already committed. Fury will now also be co-promoted by Bob Arum’s iconic Top Rank Boxing in the US.

The announcement at the headquarters of BT Sport, who will retain the rights to broadcast Fury’s fights in Britain on pay-per-view, explains the delay in confirmation of the Gypsy King’s rematch of his epic draw with Wilder in December.

Tyson Fury has landed a television deal worth an astonishing £80million deal with ESPN 

That return bout has been heading to New York on May 18 but WBC champion Wilder fights on rival American cable channel Showtime.

A battle between the winner and WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belt holder Joshua to find the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis has been mooted for Wembley Stadium in September.

But after numerous failures to come to terms with either of the other two top heavies Joshua has contracted with his promoter Eddie Hearn to box on the DAZN subscription streaming network, who will broadcast his title defence agains Jarrell Miller in New York on June 1.

The network war has been coming to fever pitch since long standing US boxing broadcaster HBO were priced out of the market in December.

Wilder is contracted to rival channel Showtime while AJ fights on streaming service DAZN 

Fury twice rose from the canvas when he faced Wilder at the Staples Center back in December

The huge influx of money from DAZN and ESPN now pitches the big three heavyweights into rival camps.

Fights between Joshua, Wilder and Fury are the ones the public are clamouring to see but the latest development seems certain to complicate further the already complex negotiations.

It is not impossible the rival parties might come to terms but each fight is likely to depend on two of the embattled TV giants agreeing to share the broadcast.

In the end money talks loudest of all in boxing.

Meanwhile there is still no confirmation of a second edition of the drama with Wilder in which a seemingly unconscious Fury climbed off the canvas to send his market value soaring to £80m overnight .