Tyson Fury plots next venture as summer fight plan plunged into doubt

Tyson Fury looks set to head to Australia to support close friend Joseph Parker at the end of May when the Kiwi makes his return to action against Faiga “Django” Opelu. The former WBO heavyweight world champion has formed a close bond with sparring partner Fury having relocated to Morecambe but now he is heading back to Oceania to box in Melbourne for the Commonwealth title.

And he claims Fury has told him he will be present at ringside for the contest – casting doubt as to whether we will see the Gypsy King in the ring in July as initially planned.

It’s understood Frank Warren has already provisionally reserved Wembley Stadium on July 15 and July 22 for the WBC heavyweight champion, although there is still no opponent or final date locked in at this moment in time.

Should Fury head Down Under as speculated, the arrangements are likely to cause huge disruption to his pre-fight training schedule, particularly given he will be travelling across multiple time zones.

Parker said: “I spoke to (Fury) last week and he said he is going to make the trip down,” Parker said.

“If he locks in a fight that might be different, but he’s said he is going to come down to support me, support the event and meet a lot of his fans in Australia.”

Fox Australia are also reporting that the card’s promoters No Limit have been in talks with Fury’s camp about flying him out to Melbourne for the show.

Fury recently declared he was close to announcing his next fight, saying during an Instagram video last week: “Got some massive, massive news coming.

“An imminent fight date, an absolutely monstrous fight. Keep tuned, because the WBC world heavyweight king is back in action, coming very very soon. Peace out.”

Andy Ruiz Jr has been frequently mooted as Fury’s next opponent but terms have not yet been agreed with the Mexican, who stunned Anthony Joshua with a monumental upset in the summer of 2019.

The Gypsy King also recently dismissed claims that he was in talks to face Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in December on the same night as Joshua versus Deontay Wilder.

There has been speculation in recent weeks suggesting the four heavyweight titans could all feature on the same night on the same card in the Middle East, claims that Fury has shot down.

Both Joshua’s and Wilder’s teams have confirmed they are in talks over a heavyweight super-fight in December, however, with Usyk set to face Daniel Dubois this summer.

Meanwhile, Parker is coming off the back of a devastating knockout defeat to Joe Joyce in Manchester – a result that shook up the heavyweight division.

Joyce has since lost to Zhilei Zhang in London earlier this month, suffering the first defeat of his professional career.

Prior to that, Fury had actually outlined his willingness to hand Joyce a shot at his WBC strap should he fail to secure the undisputed fight with Usyk that collapsed earlier this year.

Joyce now looks poised to rematch Zhang although he could also swerve the contest to prioritise his world title prospects after struggling to cope with the southpaw’s awkward style.