Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury targeted for December 1st at Staples Center

Nothing’s official quite yet, but the L.A. Times’ Lance Pugmire reports that Al Haymon and co. are looking to stage Deontay Wilder’s title defense against Tyson Fury on December 1st at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. The relevant parties “hope to have the matter settled no later than October 1st.”

Said parties have high hopes for the undercard.

As Pugmire mentions, Wilder’s (40-0, 39 KO) usual stomping grounds, Barclays Center, already has a Michelle Obama speech scheduled for that night, while T-Mobile Arena is hosting a Justin Timberlake concert. How can Fury (27-0, 19 KO) be expected to bring the sexy when it’s already being brought back?

Gervonta Davis (20-0, 19 KO) vs. Abner Mares (31-3-1, 15 KO) looks to be a bit of a mismatch just due to their relative sizes and levels of wear, but Leo Santa Cruz (35-1-1, 19 KO) against Gary Russell Jr. (29-1, 17 KO) is a dream matchup that, when combined with the main event, would make this one of the most stacked Showtime pay-per-views of the year. Russell has already had his yearly fight, though, so I wouldn’t hold my breath.