The Scotsman

Fury eager for another shot but Joshua could scupper his plans

● Warren hopes deal can be struck that will see Wilder rematch in spring

- By DECLAN WARRINGTON 1 Deontay Wilder strikes Tyson Fury with a left hook but the Briton responded.

Frank Warren plans to begin negotiatio­ns for a lucrative rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder imminently.

In his role as Fury’s promoter, and alongside the British Boxing Board of Control, Warren has made a complaint to the WBC over the scores that meant their thrilling world heavyweigh­t title fight, at Los Angeles’ Staples Centre, concluded as a draw.

His hope is that the sanctionin­g body order an immediate rematch, but speaking postfight – having already spoken of his desire for a rematch – Wilder also reiterated his willingnes­s to fight IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

A fight between the two champions for all four titles might even prove richer than Wilder-fury II, but in the present circumstan­ces would represent an injustice and also seems unlikely, with Joshua expected to fight Dillian Whyte at Wembley on 13 April.

The likeliest outcome would appear to be Wilder-fury II in a Las Vegas casino, also in the coming spring.

With his fighter’s reputation enhanced, Warren said: “You’d think they’d want the rematch. They’ve said they do.

“I think it’s got a good chance of coming to London. You’d have a 90,000 gate at Wembley, so you’re talking serious money. But with Tyson, he’ll travel – he’ll go where the money is, for March, April.

“I find it invigorati­ng. From where he’s come from, I just really enjoy it.

“They said he wasn’t going to sell any tickets. They said it wouldn’t go ahead – well it did go ahead, didn’t it?

“They said it was going to be

FRANK WARREN a boring fight. It was one of the most exciting fights – certainly the most exciting I’ve seen at heavyweigh­t in America since Lennox Lewis-vitali Klitschko [in 2003].

“I’ve worked with Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno – all of those. Now, Fury’s the people’s champion.”

That Fury succeeded in performing to such a high level following a period of only 14 unremarkab­le rounds in three years that featured significan­t ring-rust, him gaining in weight to 27 stones, taking cocaine and contemplat­ing suicide fully vindicated his trainer Ben Davison.

The previously-unproven Davison, 26, had been considered a potential weakness in Fury’s preparatio­ns but in only their third bout together he oversaw a performanc­e that suggests the fighter is again the world’s finest heavyweigh­t.

The 30-year-old Fury said: “Everybody said Ben couldn’t do it and he’d fold under pressure.

“But I didn’t see any folding, Ben. Did you, son? He didn’t fold. I knew I’d made the right choice in old Davison here. He did a fantastic job.

“Nobody in the world could have done a better job than Ben.

“Ever since me and Ben started working together, I’ve felt I made the right choice.

“If this man ain’t the highest candidate for trainer of the year, then I haven’t seen one.”

“They said he wasn’t going to sell any tickets. They said it wouldn’t go ahead – well it did go ahead, didn’t it? They said it was going to be a boring fight. It was one of the most exciting fights – certainly the most exciting I’ve seen at heavyweigh­t in America since Lennox Lewis-vitali Klitschko”

 ??  ??
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom