With less than a month to go before February 22, the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury 2 rematch pay-per-view section of the undercard is set, according to @MikeCoppinger. Top Rank will have 2 fights that they’re in control of in the undercard, and PBC adding one.
As expected, WBO super bantamweight Emanuel Navarette will be fighting on the card. He’s arguably the most talented fighter on the PPV portion of the Wilder-Fury 2 rematch.
Main event big enough to attract fans
Obviously there hasn’t been too much emphasis Top Rank and PBC put into putting together a great undercard for the Wilder vs. Fury 2 fight. They’re counting on the boxing public being interested enough in the main event for them to order the fight on PPV.
It would help if the co-feature was a thrilling match that fans want to see, but that’s not happening for this card. History suggests that fans don’t purchase fight on PPV based on the undercard. They make a decision whether the main event fight is worth buying, and in this case Wilder vs. Fury 2 is an excellent fight.
Top Rank could have made it interesting if they added Terence Crawford to the card in the co-feature spot, but it would cost too much.
These are the three pay-per-view fights on the undercard:
Emanuel Navarette (30-1, 26 KOs) faces Jeo Tupas Santisima (19-2, 16 KOs). This is the Top Rank addition to the undercard. Adding Navarette to the card is a nice move on Bob Arum’s part. #5 WBC Santisima, 23, is a good fighter, and he hasn’t lost a fight in six years. Santisima, who comes from the Philippines, has won his last 17 fights, albeit against lesser opposition. His most notable win was against journeyman Uriel Lopez in 2018.
Charles Martin (27-2-1, 24 KOs) fights former world title challenger Gerald Washington (20-3-1, 13 KOs) in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator. This is the PBC addition to the PPV section of the card. Martin, 33, is a former IBF world champion. Since losing his belt to Anthony Joshua in 2016, Martin has won 4 out of his last 5 fights. His only loss in the last 4 years was a close 10 round unanimous decision to Adam Kownacki in 2018. The 6’6″ Washington is coming off of a big win over Robert Helenius last July in Minnesota.
Sebastian Fundora (13-0-1, 9 KOs) will be fighting Daniel Lewis (6-6). This fight likely won’t last long. Fundora can punch, and Lewis will be there for as long as he can.
Junior middleweight contender Subriel Mathias could be on the undercard as well, but not on the pay-per-view portion unfortunately.
“Sources: PBC & Top Rank will go head to head in a bout set to open the #WilderFury2 PPV undercard with terms agreed to:
Sebastian Fundora (PBC) vs. Daniel Lewis (TR)
Other PPV fights:
Charles Martin vs. Gerald Washington (PBC)
Emanuel Navarette vs. Jeo Tupas Santisima (TR)” said @MikeCoppinger.