In his latest column, the former Olympian and heavyweight contender explains why Fury vs Ngannou does nothing for the champion, or for boxing.
No man’s land for Fury
It is a spectacle and it will financially benefit everyone involved but we want to see boxing’s world championships being fought and challenged for. I understand it is easy money for Fury and whatever anyone says, that is what we are in the game for. But for me, it’s a bit of a circus.
It is crazy to say that the heavyweight champion is in no man’s land. But that’s the situation after the Oleksandr Usyk talks fell through with no clear opponent on the horizon.
I am sure everyone is queuing up to fight Fury but he is that selective on who he wants to fight, when he wants to fight and for how much, that it becomes hard work. People start to lose interest then and explore other options.
I have got no doubt about it, Tyson is the no1 heavyweight in the world. But boxing was there before Tyson Fury and it will be there after him. So unless he gets active and starts getting involved in proper fights again, I’m not even sure how much longer he will be champion.
WBC can become a laughing stock
Surely there comes a point where the WBC have to think about their own agenda and what is good for the sport and the optics. Because it is not a good look for them if their heavyweight champion goes off to fight an MMA fighter, possibly in an exhibition, when there is a queue of fighters in the top 10, top 15, waiting for their chance.
They might not all be great fighters but that is the reason you have a rankings, people want to take on the no1.
Serious questions need to be asked. There are fighters there who will be asking where is the mandatory fight. At the moment, I think Tyson has the WBC by the balls. He is calling the shots.
When you are world heavyweight champion, you always get away with a little bit. But if you are considering an exhibition fight, there is no boxing benefit out of this. Not for the sport at all. This is for his pocket, it does nothing for his legacy.
There is an opportunity to make a lot of money from it and I can’t knock him for doing that, because we all would do the same in that situation. But I’m more concerned about the title.
Something has got to give. We all know, it is the business. The WBC will know when Tyson Fury fights, they are getting a nice lump in their pocket from sanctioning fees. So I can understand why they want to keep him as champion.
But there comes a point where they becomes a laughing stock themselves if they have a champion who does not defend his title. I am a massive Fury fan, all I want to do is see him in competitive boxing fights and prove he is the best in the world.
He’s got rid of Deontay Wilder but there is still Oleksandr Usyk, there is still Anthony Joshua, those questions are still there. He has already proved himself but claim your position as the king of the division by taking on all comers.
Joshua vs Whyte II will deliver more drama
After an uncertain few weeks, Anthony Joshua vs Dillian Whyte II is confirmed. AJ is ready to go to war. I have known him personally for a number of years and this is a sign of the fighter and a sign of the man he is.
With this fight, it doesn’t need much building, we know the history, the rivalry. Maybe they are both a bit quieter and wiser in there than they were eight years ago, they might go about their business a little bit differently.
Both have made improvements and it is a very competitive fight. It is a great test for AJ at this stage of his career, another chance to put that work done in the gym with Derrick James to the test. And for Dillian, he will see it as an opportunity to throw a spanner in the works and take that Wilder payday in Saudi Arabia for himself.
Looking back at their 2015 fight, both were relative novices back then. I expect the rematch to be better technically, more calculated. But it’s nailed on to come alive, there will be a feeling out process but it will explode at some point.
They don’t like each other – I don’t think there is a massive problem between them but they are never going to be best friends. All it will take is a little shot at the end of the round, half a second after the bell like last time and it will go off. I don’t expect I will be there with security this time to sort out, they’ll have to have a good team in there in case!
Zhang rematch a dangerous decision for Joyce
If I was Joe, I would have wanted the rematch straight away too. But at the same time, I would have expected the people around me to say: ‘Listen, that might not be the one’.
I heard both Joe and Frank Warren suggesting that if he loses again then it might all be over for him. There are lots of opportunities out there for him, good fights, there is also a lot of money out there for him.
Obviously this is the route that gets him back to that world title shot better and quicker than all the others. That is a huge factor here.
But I think he needs to be a bit safer. I personally wouldn’t be advising him to go straight back into this fight.
The way it happened, the manner he lost and how easy it was for Zhang, I am not sure a rematch in September provides enough time to dramatically change things needed to overturn the defeat.
Of course, I will be supporting him every way I can but it is a hugely tricky one. Zhang has got the momentum too and he will fancy getting the job done again.
MORE : Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte to meet in rematch on 12 August eight years on from first battle
MORE : Oleksandr Usyk to defend heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois in Poland on 26 August
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