Tyson Fury is set to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Andy Ruiz this summer, according to Eddie Hearn.
An undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk had been planned for the end of April at Wembley Stadium, with Fury’s promoter Frank Warren suggesting on more than once occasion that an official announcement was imminent.
However, that fight fell through, with negotiations eventually collapsing over the terms for a rematch after Usyk had accepted to take just 30% of the purse for the initial bout.
That has left Fury looking for a new opponent, and he took to social media earlier this week to tease a big announcement.
“I’ve got some massive, massive news coming,” he said. “An imminent fight date. An absolutely monstrous fight.
The Return of The King! MASSIVE NEWS IMMINENT ‼️⚔️👑 🥊 #Boxing pic.twitter.com/327rEguO7E
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) April 20, 2023
“Keep tuned, because the WBC world heavyweight king is back in action. Coming very soon.”
Bob Arum, Fury’s US promoter, has previously suggested that Joe Joyce or Ruiz were potential opponents for a stadium bout in the UK, though Joyce’s recent defeat to Zhilei Zhang ruled him out of an all-British clash.
It’s believed that talks with Saudi Arabia are taking place for Fury to have that undisputed bout with Usyk in December, but he will fight in the summer before then and when Hearn was asked who he expects that to be against, the promoter revealed he has heard Fury will face Ruiz on July 22.
Hearn has first-hand experience of working with Ruiz, with the Mexican stepping in to fight Anthony Joshua in 2019 after Jarrell Miller’s failed drugs tests and dropping the then unbeaten British star four times on his way to an astonishing upset.
Ruiz was beaten on points in the rematch in six months later, and has fought only twice since then. The most recent of those came in September, when the 33-year-old knocked Luis Ortiz down three times and got the decision on the scorecards.
Fury will be hoping to avoid any drama should he face Ruiz as expected, before potentially turning his focus to Usyk. Hearn has confirmed Saudi Arabia have plans to stage a bout between Joshua and Deontay Wilder on the undercard of that undisputed bout in December, though it remains to be seen if a deal can be reached with all four fighters.
