By: Sean Crose
There has been much talk these past few days about WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury getting in the ring with former WBA, IBF and WBO titlist Anthony Joshua before the end of the year. Fury’s co-promoter, Bob Arum, however, doesn’t see a Fury-Joshua bout happening so soon.
“I don’t think it’s going to happen,” Arum told Boxing King Media on Thursday, “because while Fury would want it to happen I put myself in the shoes of Eddie Hearn (Joshua’s promoter) and Joshua. And after losing twice to Usyk, the first thing you want to do is to get him back in the ring and get him two fights where it restores his confidence.” Sure enough, Joshua has recently lost again to Usyk , the man who snatched away his belts from him last year.
“If he goes back in the ring now with Fury,” Arum said of Joshua, “it is going to be a massacre.”
Arum was asked about a 60/40 split offered by Fury to Joshua. “I think that is pretty fair,” Arum admitted. “I mean Joshua’s not a champion anymore…hey, if Fury is willing to do that, then sure I’ll go along with it, but again,” he added, “lets not jump. I don’t believe Fury against Joshua will happen this year because everything that I know about boxing from Joshua’s standpoint indicates that it won’t happen.”
So, does Fury still intend to fight again this year, even if it’s not against someone as popular or even as challenging as Joshua? “Fury is definitely going to fight this year,” said Arum, “(he’s) definitely going to fight in the UK.” Arum want on to say that he recently spoke with Usyk’s promoter Egis Klimas.
“Please don’t rush us,” Arum quoted Klimas as saying, “we’ll do the fight (against Tyson Fury) the first quarter of next year.” Should that prove to be true, then Fury and Usyk will battle for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world before next spring…provided, of course, that Fury gets past his next opponent, whoever that may end up being.
“If this Joshua fight doesn’t come to fruition,” Arum said, “which I believe it won’t, then Frank and George, Queensbury and our people, will find a suitable opponent to have Fury fight in the UK.”
