By William Lloyd: Promoter Frank Warren says Tyson Fury will be back inside the ring to defend his WBC heavyweight title in February or March.
Tyson won’t be fighting WBC interim champion Dillian Whyte because he’s still tied down with his arbitration case, and there’s no way of knowing how long that’ll drag on.
Because of that, Fury doesn’t have a mandatory due to his next fight, and he’ll be doing a voluntary defense, possibly against Joe Joyce in the UK. Fury will decide on who his next opponent will be.
The ‘Juggerhaut’ Joyce (13-0, 12 KOs) makes sense for Fury to defend against because it’s a fight that will play out well in the UK, and it would give Tyson a high-caliber opponent to showcase his skills.
Fury won’t wait for Dillian
“We’re not going to be sitting around waiting for the arbitration. Tyson made it very clear that he wants to fight in February or early March, and we will make sure that happens,” said Frank Warren to iFL TV.
“There are a lot of things that need to be decided with that arbitration, and that will determine even if they order the [Fury vs. Whyte] fight. I have [spoken to Fury], and I’m going up there tomorrow, and we’ll make a decision.
“In an ideal world, the fight I’d like to see is a unification between him and Usyk. I’d like to see AJ step aside. I don’t know whether he’s going to do that. It would make a lot of sense for him to step aside because, in doing so, it guarantees him a shot at the four belts against the winner [of Fury vs. Usyk].
“Anyway, we can’t sit around waiting for him, but in the meantime, Tyson says he wants to get out, and we’re looking at options, and he will fight around that time end of February or early March,” Warren said.
Whyte’s decision to push for arbitration to force a title shot against Fury has seemingly backfired on him, delaying his title shot. Whyte has done some things wrong that have resulted in him being left behind, and now he may have to wait until 2024 before getting his shot.
One of the things that Whyte mishandled in recent years was his decision not to face Luis Ortiz in a WBC-ordered title eliminator several years ago in 2018. The arbitration case is just one more ham-handed bungling move on Whyte’s part that has foiled his chances for a quick title shot.
Joe Joyce an option for Tyson
“Ideally, it would be in the UK. In the UK, if that’s where it makes the most sense, that’s where we’ll be. The final decision will be with Tyson in what he wants to do.
“Look, it’s another option to sit down and discuss with Tyson. He’ll make a decision,” said Warren about Joe Joyce throwing his hat in the ring in saying this week that he wants to face Fury next. If we can do it, we’d love to do it.
“Tyson Fury will be back in the ring by late February or early March. Due to the legal wranglings involving Dillian Whyte, Tyson does not have a mandatory call to answer and is free to proceed with a defense of his belt, and it’s a fight I’d like to stage in the UK.”
We’ll see what Fury says about whether he wants to take on the big 6’6″ Joyce or not. If not Joyce, these are some attractive options:
- Frank Sanchez
- Andy Ruiz Jr.
- Joseph Parker
- Tony Yoka
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Charles Martin
