Tyson Fury’s status remains murky despite desire to fight

Tyson Fury, the lineal heavyweight champion, has made noise about returning to the ring. His actual status and ability to obtain a boxing license, however, remain in limbo.

After Deontay Wilder’s sloppy but ultimately punishing win over Gerald Washington, and with Hughie Fury getting set to challenge WBO champion Joseph Parker following Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko, a heavyweight bombshell dropped in the form of legitimate champion Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) signalling he intended to finally fight again.

https://twitter.com/Tyson_Fury/status/838833933081063425

Fury’s tweet created a minor firestorm, with the likes of Boxing Junkie’s Mike Coppinger running a story about a potential Fury comeback. Shortly after that initial wave of excitement, however, a report on Sky Sports stated that the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) was “not close” to reinstating the embattled champion.

To no one’s surprise, Fury responded on Twitter, lambasting the BBBofC. He also affirmed his desire to take on the likes of Tony Bellew, who recently upset David Haye, or WBC boss Deontay Wilder. Before Fury stepped away from boxing amidst an ongoing battle with mental health issues, a Fury-Wilder fight was seen as one of the most appealing in the division.

https://twitter.com/Tyson_Fury/status/839119171287920640

Although Tyson Fury’s situation is still unfolding, the importance of his ring return cannot be overstated. Fury’s abdication of his heavyweight belts fractured the landscape of a division on the rise, but it has also ironically created the framework for a year (or so) of meaningful fights — especially if the real champion is back in the mix.

In April, Anthony Joshua and former division ruler Wladimir Klitschko will clash to unify the WBA and IBF titles in the division’s most compelling upcoming match-up. The aforementioned Joseph Parker-Hughie Fury fight will take place in May, and with Deontay Wilder having just defended his belt, the framework is in place for further unification contests in the fall (if not the summer).

But who should Tyson Fury fight when he returns? Although his situation is currently mired in a bureaucratic swamp, there is a sense of inevitability to his comeback. When he does step into the ring, though, his last bout will have taken place in November of 2015.

Should Anthony Joshua stop Wladimir Klitschko, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist is a foe Fury may want approach with caution — not because Fury would get smoked, but simply because Joshua will have proven to be the wrecking ball fans assume he is and would thus be a reckless choice after such a long hiatus. Fury-Joshua is a match that can comfortably marinate.

Although delaying obvious match-ups is typically bad for the sport, it makes a modicum of sense here because Tyson Fury has some other options — namely, Tony Bellew, should the WBC cruiserweight champion opt to stay at heavyweight, or Deontay Wilder (both of whom Fury called out in a tweet).

Bellew has really hit his stride over his last handful of fights, but he remains undersized at heavyweight and the right mix of viable (both from a skills and financial standpoint) and vulnerable for Fury’s comeback. Wilder, while possessing some of the purest power in boxing, is a full class below Fury (at least) from a technical standpoint. Fury would have to be supremely sharp against Wilder, but one could easily envision a scenario where he cruises to a lopsided unanimous decision.

But because this is boxing, it’s likely that Tyson Fury will return with a softer touch, which is somewhat understandable. The point is that all it’ll take for Fury to get his massive feet back under him is some live action, and once that’s out of the way, he’ll be ready for anyone — Joshua, Wilder, Parker, and Klitschko included.

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With the wild dispersal of sanctioning body belts across boxing’s seventeen weight classes, continuity and clarity have become increasingly rare. Tyson Fury may be a complete lout, and he often spews offensive and ignorant idiocy, but he is the heavyweight champion of the world — and that matters.