Who’s next for newly-crowned heavyweight champion Tyson Fury?
Published:
Lee Gormley | December 1, 2015
Who will Fury fight next year?
His triumphant heavyweight showdown with former decade-long division kingpin Wladimir Klitschko was far from a classic, but Tyson Fury won’t care, having dethroned the Ukrainian to incredibly claim the WBA, WBO and IBF straps in Germany.
After backing his long-standing claims that he would comfortably overcome Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs), talk from the boxing world has switched to his next potential opponents, but who could the newly-crowned heavyweight champion face next year?
Wladimir Klitschko
The most obvious, and likely, outcome from Fury’s stunning victory is a rematch with the man whom he dethroned. It was clear that the Manchester bruiser got into Klitschko’s head pre-fight, but his tactics in the ring worked just as well as he became an unlikely, but worthy, champion.
Klitschko had been undefeated in a decade before Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) came along, and had held the IBF title from 2006, but ‘Dr Steelhammer’ is odds-on 10/11 with Coral to gain revenge in another match-up, while the new champion is the same price for a second successive triumph.
Deontay Wilder
As the reigning WBC heavyweight title holder, Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) has the only strap not currently in Fury’s possession within this division.
That could all change next year though, in a potential unification showdown between the two undefeated fighters, and American Wilder is evens to triumph, while Fury is the odds-on 4/5 front-runner.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ was swift in calling out Fury following the result in Germany, and a meeting between the heavyweight duo would give the division a first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000, unless it was a draw (25/1).
Anthony Joshua
The 2012 Olympic Gold medalist is the golden boy of British boxing, having rampantly rallied to 14 straight knockout wins since turning professional, with his most recent being an emphatic stoppage of towering Scot Gary Cornish.
An encounter between Joshua (14-0, 14 KOs) and Fury would generate a truly massive home following, but it could be a little too soon for the 26-year-old prospect, who is the odds-on 4/6 favourite to taste success if such a match-up was agreed.
Although, he must first overcome Dillian Whyte later this month before even thinking of moving up the ladder towards a world title showdown. Fury is 6/5 to thwart any danger from Joshua in a potential bout, having already proved he can mix it with the best in the business.
David Haye
Fury recently stated categorically that he would not be putting his titles on the line against long-standing rival and compatriot Haye (26-2, 24 KOs), with the former heavyweight champion having previously pulled out of their scheduled bouts twice before.
The Londoner failed at his attempt to dethrone Klitschko back in 2011, when he was outpointed over 12 rounds, before pulling out of his agreed contests with Fury due to injury. It’s clear that Fury isn’t a fighter that can be easily persuaded by a huge purse, but he is odds-on 8/11 to overcome ‘the Hayemaker’ in a possible all-British bout in the near future.
Although, we may be waiting quite a while for such a British battle, with Fury having declared he would rather give his heavyweight belts away than give Haye a shot at them, though he is 11/10 to lose out to his bitter rival. But watch this space.
Related
Read our boxing archive.
See our Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan exclusive ahead of his fight with Chris Eubank Jr on December 12th.
