Tyson Fury will be defending the lineal heavyweight championship of the world against the unbeaten – albeit unheralded – Tom Schwarz at the MGM Grand in Paradise, Nevada.
Promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank swiftly moved to snap up the self-styled ‘Gypsy King’ on a co-promotional deal off the back of Fury’s memorably dramatic yet highly-controversial split-draw with WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
In a bout which many believed Fury was unfortunate not to have been declared to winner, the Mancunian appeared to soundly outbox and frustrate his American counterpart for the majority of the fight before being floored in the ninth and twelfth rounds; something which was ultimately decisive on the scorecards.
Fury’s stellar performance in the bout coupled with his loquacious, charismatic personality – something which was fully on display in the pre-fight press conferences – highlighted his marketability and as a result he will be joining stablemates Carl Frampton, Michael Conlan and Ryan Burnett in having his fights broadcasted live on ESPN to American audiences.
Schwarz is something of an unknown quantity and it is thoroughly likely that he has been specifically selected to make Fury look good en route to a potential rematch with Wilder, which is reportedly already in the works.
Therefore expect Fury to showcase his skills in a largely one-sided affair, comprehensively outpointing his German counterpart and extending his record to 28 wins and 1 draw in the process.
On the undercard, two-time super-middleweight title challenger Jesse Hart also makes his light-heavyweight debut against seasoned campaigner Sullivan Barrera.
The Cuban last fought in November, outpointing Seanie Monaghan after suffering an emphatic beatdown at the hands of WBA champion Dmitry Bivol in March 2018.
Hart, meanwhile, unsuccessfully challenged Gilberto Ramirez twice for the WBO super-middleweight championship and will be joining his Mexican nemesis in moving up a division, in pursuit of a change of fortunes.
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________