WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder announced last week on social media that he plans to fight Tyson Fury after his proposed upcoming second bout against 40-year-old slugger Luis Ortiz.

According to New Jersey-based bookmaker 888sport, Wilder is a +120 underdog to the favorite Fury, -148, for a return fight that would probably take place late 2019 or early 2020.

“Well, as I always say I’m the realest champion in the business, and as I’ve mentioned before, I must handle all my controversial fights ASAP,” said Wilder via Twitter. “Luis Ortiz is first, then Tyson Fury next.”

That's going to give boxing betting fans a lot to think about and plenty of time to do it.

Wilder Heavily Favored Against Ortiz

Wilder knocked out Ortiz in the tenth round of a back-and-forth battle that was then considered to be Wilder’s toughest fight.

Ortiz has won three straight since, and the fight was probably very easy to make because both men are managed by Al Haymon.

According to London-based bookmaker Ladbrokes, Wilder is a -450 favorite to again defeat Ortiz, +300, in the upcoming rematch.

Still, after seeing plucky underdog Andy Ruiz score a shocking knockout victory over the heavily favored Anthony Joshua to become IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, Wilder will have the added pressure of knowing a bigger favorite than he’ll be against Ortiz will have recently had his titles ripped away from him.

In fact, that’s a big part of heavyweight championship boxing history. With such big men throwing punches at each other at such high velocities, the heavyweight division is perhaps more ripe for huge upsets than just about any other weight class in history.

Going into the second fight, Wilder will also have to be aware that Ortiz came pretty close to stopping him during the seventh round of their fight last year and that the crafty boxer might be able to come up with a better game plan to finish the job this time.

Joshua’s Loss Means Wilder-Fury is Biggest Fight in Division

Ruiz’s epic win over Joshua left the popular British star’s career in shambles and badly in need of repair.

With promoter Eddie Hearn announcing Joshua’s team has opted to seek an immediate rematch with Oritz, the shine that was once on the proposed battle between Joshua and Wilder for undisputed status has now been greatly diminished.

But the glow of Wilder vs Fury 2 has greatly increased by the same measure.

After all, Fury is considered by some to be the lineal heavyweight champion of the world and it’s probable the winner of the proposed rematch, which was also confirmed to be in the works by Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel per ESPN’s Dan Rafael, would crown the man most people in boxing would see as the true heavyweight champion.

Wilder fought Fury to a split draw in December 2018. While Fury outboxed Wilder for much of the 12-round contest, Wilder dropped Fury twice to knot the scorecards.

The two seemed on their way to signing an immediate rematch when Fury suddenly pulled out of the negotiating process to sign a lucrative deal to be co-promoted by Top Rank and featured on ESPN’s content platforms.

So when that fight became unavailable, Wilder turned to former title challenger Dominic Breazeale in what was a little bit of a grudge match due to the two men’s previous altercations outside the ring.

Wilder scored a spectacular one-punch knockout over Breazeale before reportedly agreeing to face Cuban southpaw Ortiz next.