I’LL FIGHT SIX TIMES THIS YEAR
Fury plots path to Joshua
Tyson Fury’s June 9 comeback will launch a bum-amonth campaign, invoking the historic schedule of Joe Louis. Louis fought every four weeks in his heyday and Fury plans a similar campaign, culminating in a British megafight against Anthony Joshua.
Fury returns for his first fight in his hometown of Manchester, saying: ‘I’m going to be the busiest heavyweight since the great Louis. It won’t matter who the opponent is or where it happens. If I can I’ll have six fights this year.
‘A fight for all the world heavyweight titles will happen after all that and I hope it will be against Joshua.
‘But most importantly it will be someone challenging me for the linear heavyweight championship which runs back through Joe Louis to John L sullivan and I have held since I beat Wladimir Klitschko. I’ve held nearly all the alpha belts but it is the linear title which is boxing history and makes me most proud. And it still belongs to the undefeated Tyson Fury.’
Titles are not the reason Fury is returning to the ring, however. He credits boxing as ‘the medicine which has cured the chronic depression’ which dragged him out of the ring and led finally to a backdated drug ban after his sensational dethroning of the legendary Klitschko.
He says: ‘I knew the day would come when a light would switch inside me and I would be ready to lose my abundance of weight and fight again.
‘you have to look deep within to find the reason for depression. For me it was finding myself empty without boxing.
‘I’m coming back to have fun. To enjoy myself. not for fame and fortune. It wouldn’t matter to me if I had fun for four or five fights and got p****d after them before someone chinned me. Although I know deep down the big fight has to happen.’
so will it be against Joshua or Deontay Wilder, currently in negotiations for a $100million fight to become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis?
Fury led the parade as BT announced exclusive rights to televise his comeback in Manchester, followed by world title fights involving Billy Joe saunders, Terry Flanagan and Lee selby versus Josh Warrington.
Most of those fights involving Frank Warren’s burgeoning stable of fighters will also be seen on his dedicated Boxnation channel. But BT see exclusivity on Fury leading to a pay- per- view platform of their own.
Fury hopes it will be Joshua sharing in the spoils. ‘I believe he and Wilder must fight each other and I would prefer Joshua to win so we can have the huge fight at Wembley.’