Former unified world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (27-0-1) dropped the bomb earlier today, saying that the WBO heavyweight championship could be put on the line for his upcoming bout with Tom Schwarz (24-0).
The pair will meet this Saturday night in Las Vegas, but “The Gypsy King” insisted that he has “an inside information” on the situation.
The World Boxing Organization belt is currently around the waist of Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-1) who defeated former unified world champion Anthony Joshua on June 1 in Madison Square Garden. An immediate rematch clause has been activated last week by Eddie Hearn, but there is uncertainty if the Mexican will be able to keep the WBO belt if he chooses to give Joshua a rematch instead of fighting the mandatory.
At this point, there is no WBO mandatory, as Oleksandr Usyk is the closest we have to a number one challenger because the Ukrainian has vacated the cruiserweight belt of the governing body and he’s entitled to a fight for the heavyweight crown.
Usyk Relinquishes WBO Title; Glowacki Upgraded To Full Titlist https://t.co/X90OHMQ0UR pic.twitter.com/2xS9PYuvF0
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) June 5, 2019
Here’s what the 30-years-old Brit had to say:
“I’m hearing now that it could be on the line on Saturday night,” Fury told Press Association Sport.
“That’s inside information so maybe I shouldn’t have said that, though I’ve said it now anyway, so maybe it’ll be on the line on Saturday night. There is a chance. It’s highly doable, so I’ve been told, so maybe it’ll be for the WBO championship as well.
“When you’re the lineal champion that’s as big as it gets. It doesn’t get any bigger than that. It doesn’t matter how many belts the other heavyweights have got; they’ve got to beat Tyson Fury to be number one. The winner of me and Tom Schwarz will be mandatory for the WBO because it’s number three and number two fighting each other.”
