RETURNING heavyweight contender Hughie Fury will get his mandated shot at WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in September, his father and trainer Peter has revealed.
Fury was initially set to fight Parker in New Zealand in May, but a back injury forced him to pull out and Parker beat late substitue Razvan Cojanu instead.
The unbeaten 22-year-old has recovered from his injury and will return to action in a warm-up fight in London on July 8.
“We’re very close now to signing the world title fight with Parker. That’s going to be in September, so this will be a run-out fight, something where he can get back in the ring, get a feel of it and get back in the groove. It won’t be a serious contender or anything like that, it’s just a warm-up fight for Hughie,” Peter Fury told Boxing News.
“It’s important to get him back active and get the feel of the atmosphere and the ring.
“We’re looking at the UK in September. I think by Monday we should be signed. Hughie is mandatory, so that’s where it’s at. Both camps are in agreement with everything so it should be signed by Monday.”
The fight, which is all but over the line, is likely to take place in Manchester, but specific details have not yet been revealed. After Parker defeated Cojanu, his team and Fury’s were given 30 days to come to an agreement. That window closed last week but they were granted an extension, given how close they were to striking a deal.
I’m glad to be fighting again next month & September. Your all in for a shock. @MTK_Manchester @HennessySports @frankwarren_tv @boxnationtv
— Hughie Lewis Fury (@hughiefury) June 7, 2017
That is a key difference to the negotiations for their planned fight in May, which ended up going to purse bids.
Parker has also been in talks to fight Tony Bellew after the Liverpudlian’s win over David Haye in March, but he must fulfil his mandatory obligations first.
Hughie, who has not fought since April 2016, is eager to get back in the ring next month before preparing for his long-awaited title shot.
“He’s fully recovered now, back in training and he’s in a really good place. He’s very motivated, he’s excited, he just can’t wait to get back,” Peter continued.
“It did knock him around a bit when he had to pull out of the fight, he didn’t want to do it, there were a lot of mixed emotions.
“Needless to say he was on a bit of a downer but he’s back now and I said to him ‘these things just happen in life, you can’t do anything about it.’ When you’re involved in contact sport, you’ve got big heavyweights crawling all over you, leaning on you on the ropes, something can give.”
