Promoter Bob Arum is confident Tyson Fury will be lured out of retirement after this Saturday’s rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk to face the winner for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Although Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) is currently retired, he hasn’t relinquished his WBC heavyweight title, and most believe it’s a fake retirement on his part to troll the boxing public to get them to talk about him.
Arum believes that putting a fight together between unified champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) will be a piece of cake because he has a “close’ working relationship with the management for him as they also manage Vasily Lomachenko, who fights for Top Rank.
If Joshua wins, Arum would need to work a deal with his promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing. Given how much interest Hearn and the British public have in seeing Joshua face Fury, it shouldn’t be a problem for Arum to set up a deal between them.
“Absolutely – it’s really the only fight that makes sense for Tyson Fury,” Bob Arum said to Sky Sports.
“I’ve discussed this with my co-promoter of Fury, Frank Warren, and once this fight is over, we’re going to put together a total unification match between the winner and Tyson Fury.
“Now, if Usyk wins the fight, which I expect, that will be quite easy to do because we’re very close to the Usyk people as they’re the same people who manage Vasyl Lomachenko who fights for us.”
Hopefully, Fury doesn’t lose interest if Usyk wins because that’s a fight that likely won’t bring in as much money for the ‘Gypsy King’ as Joshua, and it’s a style that could prove to be difficult for the big 6’9″ Brit.
During Fury’s best years, he was a mover and was light on his feet, and capable of moving around the ring. However, since 2020, Fury has put on a lot of bulk to his fame, and been transformed into a stationary fighter, who uses his size to maul his opponents.
That mauling style of Fury doesn’t figure to be effective against a mover like Usyk, as he won’t stand still to allow him to get his bear-like arms around him to begin the mauling process.
“If Joshua wins, Eddie Hearn is his promoter. We’ve talked many times with Hearn about various matches, and I’m sure we’ll be able to come together on this one,” said Arum.
