Less than 24 hours after rumours first emerged that the trilogy bout between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder was off due to a Covid-19 outbreak, it is now official.

The trilogy fight between the two warring heavyweights was set to take place later this month but will now be shelved until October amid reports that Fury is among those to have tested positive for Covid-19 — with a source telling the BBC that Fury is hugely frustrated at the development.

Fury is understood to have been among several figures in his camp who tested positive for the virus on Thursday, forcing the hand of organisers to postpone the fight.

According to Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel, he is “disappointed” at the situation. Further clarification on the matter is expected from promoters Top Rank on Friday.

This is the latest development at the upper echelon of heavyweight boxing which has kept the three consensus top fighters — Fury, Wilder and Anthony Joshua — apart from one another. Fury and Joshua were expected to fight in August in what would have been the biggest heavyweight title fight in a generation, before an independent arbiter ruled that Wilder was contractually guaranteed a third fight with Fury which must take place before September.

This follows two previous fights between the pair, the first being a split draw and the second being won by the Briton by 7th round TKO.

Joshua, meanwhile, is expected to face the undefeated Oleksander Usyk in September.