TYSON FURY will challenge WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas in November after easing to a 10-round victory over Francesco Pianeta at Belfastโs Windsor Park.
The 30-year-old needed only to defeat his little-known opponent to secure the ambitious fight, which will represent only the third since his comeback began in June, and was afterwards joined in the ring by the powerful American where both fighters and promoter Frank Warren confirmed they will meet.
Crucially for Fury, after the disappointment of his four-round victory over Sefer Seferi in June, in being taken the 10-round distance he was given the chance to shift much of the ring rust that would have developed during his near-three-year absence.
He will have to lose further weight and continue to rediscover his sharpness following an unremarkable performance in which he rarely hurt his opponent, but standing opposite Wilder, he vowed: โIโm going to win this manโs belt and bring it back to defend right here in Belfast.
Itโs a done deal! Wilder vs fury. #lets get ready to rumble. pic.twitter.com/69YbDuq6dn
โ DON TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) August 18, 2018
โYou canโt knock out what you canโt hit. This man (Pianeta) couldnโt land a blow on me.
โThis was the performance I needed to prove against a tough opponent that I can move and box again at the best level.
โIt was a calculated boxing performance as promised. Working on my boxing, get the rounds in. Iโm very happy with my performance. It was a step up in opponent; I needed to box and move and still show I can go 10 rounds.
โWe are two men that will fight everybody; they called, I answered, I said โSend me the contractโ and they sent it, I signed it. One thing I promise is that Iโm knocking you the f*** out.โ
SEALED WITHOUT A KISS โ#WilderFury @Tyson_Fury @BronzeBomber pic.twitter.com/D12ZUO9NWE
โ Frank Warren (@frankwarren_tv) August 18, 2018
Wilder, 32, and who clashed with Fury at Fridayโs weigh-in, then told the former WBA, WBO and IBF champion: โIt is one thing that Tyson Fury has never had. He had many belts, but heโs never had the WBC belt.
โIf he ever thinks about having this belt, he better wake up and apologise to me because heโll never have this.
โI canโt wait to fight you because I am going to knock you out. I promise you. Youโve never been knocked out but youโre going to feel the experience, what it feels to get hit by the โBronze Bomberโ.
โIโm happy to be here but Iโm sorry to tell you that Fury will not be bringing the WBC belt back here. This fight we are having is on; itโs official, itโs on, baby.โ
Warren, who has overseen Furyโs comeback, added: โAll (a date and venue) will be revealed next week, but the fight is on.โ
IBF featherweight champion Josh Warrington similarly travelled from Leeds to join Carl Frampton in the ring after the latter stopped Australiaโs Luke Jackson in nine one-sided rounds, and Warren confirmed that they will also fight before the end of the year.
โWeโre now going to make the dream fight,โ he said. โIt will happen, definitely this year. Itโs on.โ
The 31-year-old Frampton, who defended the interim WBO title, said:ย โIโm not a world champion, Josh is a world champion. Iโd love to be a world champion again.โ
Warrington, 27, responded: โHe performed well, but listen Iโm looking to get the fight, I beat (Lee) Selby and Iโm still ranked behind Carl.โ