By: Sean Crose
“The Gypsy King is returning in 2021. Only those that have supported me 100% since my comeback will be with me for the glory.”
With that strange tweet, one of the stranger men in professional boxing made it clear that he will not be fighting in December, as has been expected. Tyson Fury may be considered the king of the heavyweight division, but he doesn’t seem to have the power to return to the ring once more in 2020 as he had hoped. The 32 year old WBC heavyweight champ was in line to face the 28 year old Agit Kabayel next month. Now, for unclear reasons, the fight has been pushed back, if not squashed entirely.
The last time Fury was in the ring, he demolished then defending champion Deontay Wilder in seven rounds in the rematch of their colorful 2018 title fight. That match ended in a controversial draw. Determined not to leave it in the hands of the judges the second time around, Fury teamed up with trainer Sugar Hill Steward, then subsequently bested Wilder in brutal, one sided fashion. Since then, however, Fury has had to face the reality of Covid, and also the reality of a potential third Wilder fight.
As things have been widely understood, Fury had legally agreed to a third fight with Wilder, no matter how the second fight turned out. As time moved on, however, team Fury seems to have decided that the legal time limit for a third fight to be made had come and gone. Hence, the December date for a fight with an opponent not named Wilder. Now that Fury’s December comeback has been scratched, people will likely wonder if legal issues – or potential legal issues – are the reason for the pushback/cancellation of the December date.
As for the ” Only those that have supported me 100% since my comeback will be with me for the glory,” comment at the end of Fury’s tweet, it’s unclear what the man means. Fury, however, has been known to speak freely. Whether the statement comes from a passing moment or will carry real weight with it as time moves on remains to be seen. As of press time, no news of friction within the Fury camp has been made public.
Fury, who boasts a record of 30-0-1, is now widely regarded as the king of the heavyweight division, although fellow Englishman Anthony Joshua possesses more titles.