The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Time is right for Miocic-Fury crossover
The second time around, Deontay Wilder was not ready for Tyson Fury.
Perhaps it’s time Stipe Miocic gets his shot in the ring. The king of the ring against the king of the octagon has a nice ring to it. (WBA, WBO and IBF champ Anthony Joshua might get his say in the future against Fury but that’s for another day and fight).
Right now, the baddest men on the planet (aka the heavyweight champions in boxing and UFC) are Fury, holder of the WBC title, and Miocic. Combat sports hasn’t had a marquee crossover event since 2017, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. stopped Conor McGregor in a boxing match.
Miocic and his camp have said for years they are ready for the ring, and why not? Miocic has wiped out the UFC heavyweight division, so there’s not much else for the Eastlake North graduate and Cleveland firefighter to prove in the octagon.
Fury proved plenty on Feb. 22 in Las Vegas when he pummeled Wilder for seven rounds before the title bout was stopped. Miocic was watching, and had this say after via Twitter:
“Congrats @Tyson_Fury I’d love to sing Sweet Caroline in the ring. Let’s do this.”
Fury, a sweet-talking Brit, is a showman for sure. Following his big win over Wilder, he shouted, “The king has returned to his throne,” then sang the classic song, “American Pie” to the crowd.
This isn’t about the singing talents of Fury or Miocic. It’s about champion vs. champion and boxing vs. UFC.
Intrique in sports sells, and this potential matchup might sell well. Give the fans what they want, and maybe it’s also time to give Miocic what he wants.
“I want to box,” Miocic told The News-Herald in January. “… I just like the challenge. I don’t think anyone gives me the credit (as a boxer). I think I would do very well.”
Miocic does a lot of work as a boxer while training for the UFC, and has shown good knockout power with his right hand. While emerging as a UFC contender in his mid20s, Miocic (who’s now 37) spent nearly two full years training as a boxer and became a golden gloves champion.
His boxing coaches are Alex Cooper, who graduated from Mentor High School, and longtime boxing coach Joe Delguyd, a product of Eastlake North.
Miocic’s manager Jim Walter said a bout in either “MMA or boxing” against Fury would be of big interest to him, Miocic’s camp and the UFC heavyweight champion.
“Stipe’s all about growth,” said Walter. “I think he cleared out the (UFC) heavyweight division. I think there are other options.”
Miocic won back the heavyweight title from Daniel Cormier in August 2019 but has been on the mend recovering from eye surgery following a eye poke from Cormier in that title bout.
Miocic said he’s recently been cleared to train fullgo. Walter recently told ESPN.com there is no time table for his next bout — whether it’s in the octagon or ring.
Fury and Miocic crossed each other’s paths a little more than a month ago. They were in Las Vegas when McGregor finished Donald Cerrone in 40 seconds in McGregor’s impressive return to the UFC. Miocic said he approached Fury with a message.
“I literally walked up to him and said, ‘Tyson, I know you have a fight coming up and I wish you the best. Right after, though, I want to fight.’ He was like, ‘OK.’ Then I was like, ‘Seriously, I want to fight you.’ Again, I was like, ‘No seriously.’ “
Fury, 31, is almost exactly six years younger than Miocic (19-3). Each were born in the middle of August. Miocic is a big man at 6-foot-4 and in the 230-to-240-pound range, but Fury has him beat by five inches at 6-9. Fury also weighed in at 273 pounds for the Wilder fight.
Fury (29-0-1) recently discussed the possibility of fighting Miocic (19-3) in either the ring or the octagon.
In late 2019, he posted clips of himself training with UFC fighter Darren Till. On fighting Miocic, Fury said “I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it. It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”
Big indeed. The timing couldn’t be better.