Tyson Fury landed a TV deal worth an "astonishing" £80M ($103.4M), but the agreement "casts a doubt over his proposed world heavyweight title mega-fights" with Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, according to Jeff Powell of the London DAILY MAIL. Promoter Frank Warren's deal with 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. Warren did the Fury deal in conjunction with his American partner Top Rank and promoter Bob Arum. The announcement at the HQ of BT Sport, which will retain the rights to broadcast Fury's fights in Britain on pay-per-view, "explains the delay" in confirmation of Fury's rematch of his "epic draw with Wilder in December." The news of Fury's deal with ESPN "further complicates any deal for him to fight either Wilder or Joshua." The TV deals for Wilder (Showtime) and Joshua (DAZN/Sky Sports) are designed to prevent fighters from "appearing on rival channels." A compromise can be reached, "though they are rare." Fury said: "It's the Tyson Fury show now. I've got the biggest TV platform in the world. I call the shots" (DAILY MAIL, 2/18). The BBC reported Warren pointed to the size of ESPN's subscription base when he said that his fighter was now on "a bigger platform." Asked about negotiations for bouts with "the division's biggest names," Warren said, "They will now have to come to us" (BBC, 2/18).
