IT seemed little more than a publicity stunt when first mentioned yet Tyson Furyโs planned foray into mixed martial arts has picked up some more momentum with the news that Dana White, the UFC President, has held talks with โThe Gypsy Kingโ about making the transition.
Though at first White shot down the rumours, insisting the move would end badly for the former heavyweight champion, he has since come around to the idea and has at least allowed Fury to sound him out about the possibility.
โItโs interesting,โ White told Washingtonโs 106.7 FM radio station. โHe and I talked the other day. We talked. He really is interested in fighting. I respect that.
โWeโll see what happens. Letโs see what happens with his boxing career.
โHeโs got this rematch coming up with Wilder, which is obviously huge and a fun fight for the heavyweight division. Youโve got (Andy) Ruiz and (Anthony) Joshua fighting this weekend… So weโll see how that goes, and weโll see what happens.โ
I guess weโll just see what happens.
It had appeared all but nailed on that Dereck Chisora, the unlikely darling of British pay-per-view shows, would find himself headlining another one in February against former cruiserweight king and fledgling heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk of the Ukraine.
However, there could be other options for Usyk next year, one of whom, Joseph Parker, is rated at four by the WBO, behind only Usyk, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. This means that if the WBO heavyweight title, currently held by Andy Ruiz Jnr, was to suddenly become vacant, it would likely result in Usyk and Parker being ordered to square off for the belt. It could also mean Chisora ends up missing out on a payday.
Asked about Parkerโs next move, his manager, David Higgins, told Sky Sports: โUsyk has been acknowledged as the mandatory for the WBO and rightly so โ heโs one of the pound-for-pound best in the world and unified at cruiserweight, so we donโt question that.
โBut itโs possible that the WBO title could become vacant and, as I said at the conference, if that title vacates, then Joseph Parker is possibly the next available ranked fighter and could challenge Usyk to fight off for the vacant title.
โIf you recall, thatโs how Joseph won the heavyweight title, fighting off against Ruiz. History might repeat.
โIf the cards fall the right way, we could potentially have Parker challenging again for a world title, as soon as next year perhaps.โ
Itโs an opportunity Higgins believes Parker deserves but is just as quick to point out that not all of the New Zealanderโs eggs will be going in that particular basket.
โDavid Haye (Chisoraโs manager) is quite Machiavellian and so Iโm sure he will be scheming away on what the next steps are,โ he said. โSo Joseph Parker will just worry about his own journey and I think most people would agree that Parker would be more deserving of a shot against Usyk than Chisora.
โI canโt see how on merit they would give Chisora a shot anyway when Parker is at four?
โUsyk could fight Chisora not for the title. But that would be a bit risky for Usyk. Heโs sitting on a mandatory.
โItโs about more than money. Itโs about winning the title. Would Usyk want to risk that against Chisora in a fight thatโs less meaningful than a title fight?
โIโm not sure we will see Chisora-Usyk next year. It will be interesting to see what happens.โ
Hereโs the thing: Chisora wonโt get the Usyk fight on merit. He never would. But the reason for him getting the nod might in the end have more to do with the fact he is a famous face in British boxing, he guarantees a good scrap, and he speaks his mind. In 2019, with pay-per-view established as the driving force behind the sport, you donโt need much more than that.