By Barry Holbrook: Promoter George Warren says there’s been no formal offer made to Tyson Fury for him to fight Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia.
Simon Jordan reported yesterday that he had heard a rumor that Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) will be fighting Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia, and Anthony Joshua would be facing Deontay Wilder in the same month.
Warren says that as of right now, there are no plans yet for Fury’s next fight. He will be speaking with Fury soon to go through a short list of potential opponents for his next fight in the summer for stadium fight.
When asked about Andy Ruiz possibly being Fury’s next fight, Warren said he’s a “credible opponent” but didn’t confirm whether he’ll be next for Tyson.
“The first question that Tyson has got to answer, and he’ll do that with us when we sit down address it. First, does he want to be active, does he want to fight?” said promoter George Warren to iFL TV when asked about Tyson Fury’s plans for his next fight.
“We’ve got some dates held; we’ve got stadiums held for the summer for him. If we’re going to be doing something for him, we’re going to need to hear that decision fairly soon.
“Then we can build up a short list of available opponents and ones that are actually available and want to do it and are serious about trying to make the fight with Tyson,” Warren continued. “We’ll assess that and try and make the best decision as to what’s available and can we make it work.
“Right now, there’s nothing more to say because anything else would be speculation. I think he’s a credible opponent,” Warren said when asked about his thoughts on Fury fighting Andy Ruiz Jr next.
“Andy Ruiz stopped Anthony Joshua and is a former world champion. I don’t think the performance in the rematch when he fought out in Saudi Arabia was Andy Ruiz’s best performance, but he’s had solid wins since then.
“I’m not focusing on who the opponent is at the moment for Tyson. The first step is to speak with Tyson, which we’ll do next week. We’ll find out what he wants to do. Does he want to be active? Does he want to fight? Does he want to do a UK stadium fight?
“If he does, then again, we’ll assess who is available and look at all the different opponents and anyone that wants to fight Tyson. Once he’s made that decision, get in touch, and then we’ll look at the opportunities and the options and go through them.
“It would be amazing, wouldn’t it?” said Warren when told that Simon Jordan said he heard that Fury could be fighting Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia and that Anthony Joshua will be facing Deontay Wilder in the same month in that country.
“It’s speculation at the moment. As far as I’m concerned, we’ve not had any formal offer or communication that is something that is there to be done. Like we always say, we get a lot of attention and interest for Tyson, not just from UK opportunities but from around the world.
“When people get in touch, the usual way we deal with it is just to say, ‘Great, put an offer down in writing. Send us some date options, tell us what the plan is and what you’re looking at doing, and the finances involved. We can go through there and address it as a team.
“Tyson is the decision-maker, but certainly, if there’s an opportunity, we’re happy to look at it. I’m saying right now that I’m not going to dwell on speculation because speculation doesn’t get us anywhere. At this moment in time, I’ve not had an offer for anything. If one was to come in, it will remain private, it would be discussed, and we’ll go from there,” said Warren.
