manager Shelly Finkel were left to look elsewhere with Joshua instead opting to make a defence against Povetkin which would take place on September 22, whilst Fury made his return to action on June 9 after a two and a half year hiatus since his win over Klitschko, stopping Sefer Seferi in four rounds. On June 27, 2018, Fury gave Wilder a message in an Instagram video saying, "I'll apologise on behalf of Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua because they're from the same country as I am, they won't fight you and they've took three months stringing you and the fans along with no intention of fighting, but I'll fight you in three seconds. Get your boss to send me the contract and I'll show you how long it takes to sign it! If you wanna fight the best this country has ever had knock on my door and see if the Gypsy King doesn't answer! The ball is in your court." Around this time, Fury and Wilder discussed a potential fight privately, and their two teams began talks for a fight to take place before the end of the year. Build-up By August 2018, both Wilder and Fury had agreed to a fight and, with Fury scheduled for the second fight of his comeback against former world title challenger Francesco Pianeta on 18 August on the undercard of Carl Frampton vs. Luke Jackson at Windsor Park in Belfast, Wilder was ringside to begin the promotion of the fight with Fury. After a comfortable points victory over Pianeta, there was a second in-ring confrontation between the two with Wilder saying, "We're ready now, this fight will happen, it's on baby, this is what we've been waiting for right here, the best fighting the best!" While Fury said, "we are two men who will fight anybody, this man has been trying to make a big fight with the other chump, I think we all know who we're talking about. But listen they called, I answered, I said send the contract, they sent it and I said yes." Wilder replied by saying, "There's one thing Tyson Fury has never had and that's the WBC belt, and if he ever thinks about having it he better wake up and apologise to me because he ain't never having it." The pair posed for photographs and then had a face off, with Fury's promoter Frank