Tyson Fury’s next fight will take place no later than March 2022, the world heavyweight champion’s co-promoter Bob Arum has confirmed.
Fury is currently without a scheduled bout after the WBC decided to not yet order a mandatory clash against Dillian Whyte.
The governing body had been expected to confirm Whyte as Fury’s challenger this week but announced they could not order the fight until an ongoing legal issue with Londoner Whyte has been resolved.
Talks had reportedly opened for the fight to take place in the UK - with Fury’s last fight on home soil coming in 2018 - but the Gypsy King must now look elsewhere.
Whyte’s lawsuit with the WBC is expected to drag on for months meaning Fury could be forced to wait for the outcome of the rematch between Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.
Regardless of the outcome, the 33-year-old is determined to return to the ring early next year. Top Rank promoted Arum said: "I spoke to Tyson Fury - he wants to fight again by the end of February, no later than the first week or so in March. That will happen."
Fury was given a 30-day window following October victory over Deontay Wilder to agree to a unification bout against Usyk, following the Ukranian's triumph against Joshua in September.
But the prospect of that clash was taken off the table for the time being after Joshua activated his rematch clause with the pair set to face-off again early in 2022.
