By Charles Brun: Tyson Fury took to social media today to let his fans/followers know he has “massive news coming” about his next fight.
The unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) didn’t give any hints about when and who he’ll be fighting, but it’s expected to be against IBF, WBA & WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in December in Saudi Arabia as part of a monstrous card, along with Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder.
It remains to be seen if Fury can negotiate the fight with Usyk because if he asks for more than the Saudis are willing to give him, he’ll be out of luck, striking for the third time.
Fury already whiffed twice in failing to negotiate fights with Usyk and Joshua. Given Fury’s recent troubles setting up massive fights, it’s fair to say that he could price himself out and will be excluded from the December event in Saudi.
You can’t rule out the possibility that the Usyk-Fury fight can’t be negotiated. Will Fury insist on fighting in the main event and getting the lion’s share of the take?
This could be a problem because, on paper, Joshua vs. Wilder is the better fight. The star of the card would be Joshua by a mile in the eyes of the fans and likely the Saudis who are paying for this event.
“Got some massive, massive news coming. An imminent fight date, an absolutely monstrous fight. Keep tuned because the WBC world heavyweight king is back in action, coming very, very soon. Peace out” said Tyson Fury on Twitter about his next fight in December.
The Saudi representative didn’t say yesterday if he had a backup option to match against Usyk if a deal can’t be reached with Fury.
In that case, Usyk would need to have his WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois as the backup option for December. However, it’s unclear whether his surgically repaired knee will be ready by then.
If Dubois can’t step in, perhaps Usyk’s IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic can be the guy he faces in December.
What was hard not to notice about Fury’s brief statement on Twitter today was how out of breath he was while doing simple leg extensions.
You got to wonder if Fury has been working on his cardio in the last four months since his knockout win over his good buddy, 39-year-old journeyman Derek Chisora last December.
It’s great that Fury has managed to keep his weight down since the Chisoa fight, but it appears he hasn’t been working on his conditioning because he shouldn’t be out of breath doing leg extensions, should he?
The Return of The King! MASSIVE NEWS IMMINENT ‼️⚔️👑 🥊 #Boxing pic.twitter.com/327rEguO7E
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) April 20, 2023