Tyson Fury says he’s rather give up belt than fight heavyweight rival who is two stone lighter than him
TYSON FURY insists he would rather give up his WBC heavyweight title belt rather than fight one individual who is TWO STONE lighter than him.
The Gypsy King is currently in Australia to support training partner and friend Joseph Parker.
GettyTyson Fury is currently in Australia to support pal Joseph Parker[/caption]
Parker, 31, faces Faiga Opel, 29, in Melbourne tomorrow night and will have the backing of Fury, who made the near 11,000 mile trip over.
The champ was in talks for the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed decider against Oleksandr Usyk this year.
But the deal broke down amid a row over the potential split for a rematch between the two.
Fury, 34, was looking to come back in the summer at Wembley but found very little available opponents available.
It led the two-time unbeaten champion to name Australia as a potential host for his very next bout.
Fury was at today’s press conference to watch Parker weigh-in at 108.8kg, the New Zealander’s the lightest weight since his defeat to Anthony Joshua in 2018.
The Brit, who hit the scales at 19.2 stone for his victory over Derek Chisora in December, was asked whether defending his title against close pal and training partner Parker in the future was “a realistic possibility” by the media in attendance.
But he instantly replied with: “Definitely not. No. I’d rather give him the belt than fight him for it.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST SPORTS BETTING APPS IN THE UK
“We’re too close for that fight, and there’s plenty of heavyweights out there.”
Fury then joked that he also “didn’t want to get beat up” by Parker.
The star had earlier in the week made the shock revelation that he could be in line to fight Aussie heavyweight Demsey McKean.
McKean, 32, is signed to Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom banner and is currently 22-0 with 14 knockouts.
And he was hired as Anthony Joshua’s sparring before before the Brit’s loss to Usyk in September 2021.
McKean was also considered as an opponent for Joshua this year before Jermaine Franklin was ultimately selected.
