Boxing News at Five: UFC boss opens talks with Fury regarding MMA move, Parker could beat Chisora in race for Usyk

Tyson Fury who is Sefer Seferi

IT seemed little more than a publicity stunt when first mentioned yet Tyson Furyโ€™s 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 โ€˜The 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.

โ€œItโ€™s interesting,โ€ White told Washingtonโ€™s 106.7 FM radio station. โ€œHe and I talked the other day. We talked. He really is interested in fighting. I respect that.

โ€œWeโ€™ll see what happens. Letโ€™s see what happens with his boxing career.

โ€œHeโ€™s got this rematch coming up with Wilder, which is obviously huge and a fun fight for the heavyweight division. Youโ€™ve got (Andy) Ruiz and (Anthony) Joshua fighting this weekend… So weโ€™ll see how that goes, and weโ€™ll see what happens.โ€

I guess weโ€™ll just see what happens.

tyson fury
Fury fancies an MMA fight (Action Images/REUTERS/Mike Segar)

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 Parkerโ€™s next move, his manager, David Higgins, told Sky Sports: โ€œUsyk has been acknowledged as the mandatory for the WBO and rightly so โ€“ heโ€™s one of the pound-for-pound best in the world and unified at cruiserweight, so we donโ€™t question that.

โ€œBut itโ€™s 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.

โ€œIf you recall, thatโ€™s how Joseph won the heavyweight title, fighting off against Ruiz. History might repeat.

โ€œIf the cards fall the right way, we could potentially have Parker challenging again for a world title, as soon as next year perhaps.โ€

Itโ€™s an opportunity Higgins believes Parker deserves but is just as quick to point out that not all of the New Zealanderโ€™s eggs will be going in that particular basket.

โ€œDavid Haye (Chisoraโ€™s manager) is quite Machiavellian and so Iโ€™m sure he will be scheming away on what the next steps are,โ€ he said. โ€œSo 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.

โ€œI canโ€™t see how on merit they would give Chisora a shot anyway when Parker is at four?

โ€œUsyk could fight Chisora not for the title. But that would be a bit risky for Usyk. Heโ€™s sitting on a mandatory.

โ€œItโ€™s about more than money. Itโ€™s about winning the title. Would Usyk want to risk that against Chisora in a fight thatโ€™s less meaningful than a title fight?

โ€œIโ€™m not sure we will see Chisora-Usyk next year. It will be interesting to see what happens.โ€

Hereโ€™s the thing: Chisora wonโ€™t 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 donโ€™t need much more than that.

oleksandr usyk
They all want Usyk

Share Page