Tyson Fury has returned to social media to tease the next defence of his WBC heavyweight title.
‘The Gypsy King’ was last in the ring for a one-sided affair against old pal, Derek Chisora, in December of 2022. Following that victory, he immediately entered talks with Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk is the division’s other champion, holding the WBA, IBF and WBO belts after dethroning Anthony Joshua. The fight with Fury would crown the first four-belt champion and the first undisputed heavyweight king since Lennox Lewis.
Unfortunately but perhaps not surprisingly for fans, the negotiations collapsed amidst a torrent of social media demands and financial disagreements.
Whilst the Ukrainian promptly announced that he would instead serve his mandatory challengers, the first up being Daniel Dubois, Fury choose radio silence.
That’s all changed with this announcement. He took to Instagram to announce his ring return.
I’ve got some massive, massive news coming, an imminent fight date. An absolutely monstrous fight. Keep tuned because the WBC world heavyweight champion is back in action coming very very soon. Peace Out.
Tyson Fury on Instagram 📹#Boxing#TysonFurypic.twitter.com/z30SQyfaif
— Behind The Gloves (@BehindTheGloves) April 20, 2023
The two names mentioned alongside Fury’s recently were that of Andy Ruiz Jr (WBC ranked number 2) and Joe Joyce (formerly WBO Interim champion.)
With Joyce’s recent loss to Zhilei Zhang all but ruling him out, Ruiz looks the most likely, but Zhang was quick to call out Fury for a stadium fight in his native China.
With big heavyweight bouts rumoured for the end of the year in the Middle East – perhaps even a second attempt to make the undisputed bout with Usyk – it’s more likely to see Fury in with a contender outside of what’s often considered the current top four – himself along with Usyk, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Ruiz has been open about wanting the fight, and has nothing else scheduled since his September points win over Luis Ortiz.
Whilst the WBC haven’t called a mandatory, with their number one ranked contender, Wilder, seemingly looking elsewhere, the Mexican American who once beat Joshua is looking most likely.
Of course, Fury is nothing if not unpredictable, so fans shouldn’t rule out a sideshow bout with MMA star, Francis Ngannou, or similar.