Tyson Fury still wants to fight on Saturday

By Boxing News - 07/22/2014 - Comments

fury9173By Scott Gilfoid: #4 WBO, #5 IBF Tyson Fury (22-0, 16 KOs) says he still hopes to fight this Saturday night on the Phones 4U Arena card in Manchester, UK. Fury’s previously scheduled opponent Dereck Chisora (20-3, 13 KOs) had to pull out of the fight due to a fractured left hand yesterday, leaving the ring rusty Fury high and dry without an opponent.

Fury said on his twitter today “I know who am fighting yet.”

American heavyweights Tony Thompson and Antonio Tarver have reportedly volunteered to step in and face Fury. However, given the talent of the two fighters, Fury and his handlers will steer clear of either of them. Tarver and Thompson, even at their age, are capable of pulling off an upset of Fury due to their experience, southpaw stance and talent. But Fury is already in shape, and he’s a heck of a lot younger than both of them. I mean, if Fury can’t beat guys in their 40s like Tarver or Thompson, then he’s clearly wasting his time trying to fight in a WBO heavyweight eliminator. That’s the good thing. Fury vs. Thompson or Tarver will tell fans whether Fury should be fighting in a WBO heavyweight eliminator.

Whether Fury is serious about wanting to fight on Saturday is the big question. The Manchester card is taking a huge hit with Fury and Chisora off the card, because Billy Joe Saunders against some obscure fighter is now the main event. Having Fury back on the card, even against a scrub opponent, will likely greatly enhance the card.

This was Fury’s third cancelled fight in the past year, and he’s seen a significant portion of his career flushed down the toilet with the constant cancellations. The obvious thing that you think about when you see these constant cancellations is that Fury is trying to face guys in their 30s, and when you get older fighters the injuries for these guys are going to be a problem. If Fury were to be taking on some younger heavyweights like Deontay Wilder, we’re probably not going to see the same risk. But unfortunately Fury hasn’t accepted Deontay’s challenge to fight him yet for some reason despite the many attempts Deontay has made to try and get the 6’9” Fury into the ring.

With the way that Fury has been carefully matched during his career, I don’t see him being put on Saturday’s card even if he’s put in with a journeyman with a horrible record. They’re probably not going to want to chance it that Fury gets blasted out by someone that they haven’t trained for and studied in depth to make sure that he’s not good enough to beat Fury.



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