Tyson Fury won't defend his WBC heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte in his next outing, promoter Frank Warren has said.
The world heavyweight champion is expected to have a massive homecoming fight in the UK in March, but due to an arbitration process ongoing between Whyte and the governing body, the belt won't be on the line.
Whyte has been ordered as Fury's mandatory challenger for the belt, but is locked in arbitration with the WBC over what the split will be mandated at for the all-British world title bout.
And having been forced to sit out for almost two years following legal disputes with Deontay Wilder, Fury won't allow any time to be wasted as he looks to get out again in March.
"One of our March shows, I'm pretty confident, will feature Tyson Fury," Warren told iFL TV today. "But he won't be defending his WBC title.
"There's a problem there, not of our making or his making, the WBC and Dillian Whyte are in arbitration and that hearing is not set to be heard until March.
"We can't negotiate, whatever nonsense Eddie Hearn [Whyte's promoter] says about negotiating, when the WBC haven't said what the splits are.
"In his mind, he thinks he's getting 45 per cent, in our mind it's 20 per cent, based upon their previous purses lodged under WBC regulations.
"And they won't determine those percentages until arbitration and until that happens, we can't negotiate and that doesn't mean you could just do the fight in April."
The process of staging a big world heavyweight title fight generally takes months at the quickest pace, and if the deal is agreed in March it would mean the fight not happening until May or June.
But Fury, having spent nearly three years out of the ring following his battles with mental health and a further two with the Wilder issue, isn't willing to wait to get back between the ropes.
"We've got to negotiate, book a venue and if we can't negotiate then who wins the purse bid has to do that," Warren continued.
Who would you like to see Tyson Fury fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
"That wouldn't go on until June so Tyson will fight, but not for the WBC title.
"We're innocent parties in this, it's not our thing it's a legal dispute between the WBC and Dillian Whyte which is being settle by an agreed arbitration.
"Tyson can't sit around and wait for that to happen, he's going to fight and defend his Ring Magazine belt, we'll see, but he will fight some time in March.
"I've been talking to Bob Arum about that and Tyson and that's the direction we're looking to go in."
It also remains to be seen if this fight, which could be against a number of contenders including Andy Ruiz Jr, will take place in the UK.
Fury and his team want a bout in Cardiff's Principality Stadium or Old Trafford in Manchester, but with coronavirus restrictions being re-implemented, Warren says they could be forced to move the fight to the United States.
