Legendary promoter Bob Arum has revealed that it’s likely Tyson Fury will take a fight early next year, before setting his sights on holding all the gold later in 2022.
Fury finished off his trilogy against American Deontay Wilder in emphatic fashion last weekend, knocking him out in the eleventh round.
Fury will eventually fight the winner of the rematch between new WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk and Britain’s Anthony Joshua – but not before taking another fight in the meantime.
READ MORE: Aussie snowboarding legend Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin’s widow posts heartwarming pregnancy update
READ MORE: Details of Ben Simmons meeting with Sixers over trade demand revealed
Usyk stunned the world last month, the Ukrainian taking a unanimous 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 win to claim the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles.
“Joshua and Usyk, I think they’re going to wait until April 4,” Arum told FightHub.
“I think Fury will fight again in March or April. Then we can look to a September or October match for a unification.”
In the meantime, Fury will look to take another fight – possibly against fellow Brit Dillian Whyte – the current WBC interim champion, who defends his crown next week.
READ MORE: Teammates tight-lipped as Ben Simmons returns to practice
READ MORE: F1 great criticises Daniel Ricciardo’s McLaren switch
READ MORE: EPL stars lauded after helping save fan’s life
Arum also said it was unlikely that Joshua would be able to get revenge for his loss, and that Usyk loomed as the most likely man to take on Fury for all the belts.
“Eddie [promoter Eddie Hearn] thought Joshua wouldn’t be amenable to a step aside and would want to do the rematch,” Arum said.
“Which is sort of stupidity on his part because no way is he going to beat Usyk in his next fight no matter what new strategy he deploys. The only way you’re going to beat Usyk is to pin him and corner him with your high weight and pressure him.
“But then he can unload against you. Now, a Tyson Fury can absorb that, as we all know, but Anthony Joshua has a suspect chin.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!