Joe Tessitore grew up in upstate New York not far from Mike Tyson as the heavyweight became one of the more prolific boxers of all time.

The ESPN play-by-play man attended many of the fights that grew Tyson’s legend in places like Albany and Latham. It’s what helped Tessitore fall in love with the sport, and he believes another significant chapter in heavyweight boxing lore is about to unfold on Saturday night when Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have their anticipated rematch following their 2018 classic.

“There’s boxing and then there’s heavyweight boxing. Two undefeated champions in a rematch, now that’s a different stratosphere,” said Tessitore, who will be calling the ESPN+ and Fox Sports PPV fight alongside Lennox Lewis and Andre Ward.

“There are few things on earth that will make you feel it in your chest more than sitting ringside for a heavyweight championship fight in Vegas right before the opening bell.”

This was not supposed to be the next great heavyweight rivalry.

Fury stunned Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, but then the eccentric Englishman battled depression, along with weight and alcohol issues that were exacerbated by his new-found celebrity and pushed him to the brink of suicide.

Wilder, an Alabama native, rose up the ranks of the division with his exceptional punching power, but even as he collected the WBC belt he lacked the signature victory that would push him to the top of the sport.

Then in December 2018, the two put on an epic show that ended in a controversial draw. Fury controlled large swaths of the fight, but Wilder delivered two knockdowns. That included one — a straight right-left hook combo — in the final round that looked for sure would end Fury’s night, but he stunningly popped up.

“I am excited,” Lewis, the most recent undisputed heavyweight champion, said.

“I said right after the first fight, ‘I want to see the rematch. I gotta see the rematch.’ I know both had to go and do different things to come back again, that’s how the game is. … Both guys have great personalities. This is what we need, different people all the time. I love the fact that Tyson Fury sings after the fight. Man, where have you ever seen that before? That lights me up. Personalities are great for the sport and for the heavyweights.”

The showdown between the undefeated boxers also marks an unprecedented joint boxing venture from Fox Sports and ESPN, with the networks throwing their heft at the fight to add to the attraction. The coverage started in earnest on Tuesday, and there will be a full day of pre-fight coverage starting at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Wilder, the WBC champ, and Fury, the lineal champ, have each won two fights since their initial showdown and have already talked up the possibility of a trilogy. Fury also raised his profile with WWE appearances, highlighted by a feud with Braun Strowman.

“It’s not even in the same universe,” said Tessitore — comparing this fight to the first one, which reportedly had 355,000 pay-per-view buys on Showtime. “In the first fight, Deontay was just making his PPV debut. Fury was thought of as a reclamation project, where even some people in his own camp were like, ‘Why are you taking that fight?’

“There was a curiosity to it, but it hadn’t passed over to that mega-mainstream lane like this one has. A lot of that has to do with how thrilling the first fight was, they have the drama of the ninth and 12th round, controversy, and then the last year they both go on to elevate themselves inside and outside the ring.”