BOXING PROMOTER EDDIE Hearn believes Tyson Fury will be stripped of his WBA Super and WBO world heavyweight titles after pulling out of his bout with Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury is yet to defend the titles he won from Klitschko in November of last year after an ankle injury and now undetermined health concerns have led to rematches being postponed.
Hearn has offered Klitschko a bout with his own British world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in place of the failed rematch, and a prolonged Fury absence from the ring could boost his British rival’s attempts to scale the division.
“Yes, I do [think Fury will be stripped], it’s been nearly a year since he’s boxed,” Hearn told Sky Sports News. “The governing bodies want that belt to be active so over the next couple of weeks, the contenders will be putting pressure on the governing bodies.
“We don’t know how long Tyson will be out of the ring for. We wish him well, of course, but the sport has to go on and the governing bodies will want to get those belts active as soon as possible.
“It’s a difficult situation for him. He needs to get the right treatment and help. I guess they can’t put a time on when he’ll be back in the ring and I think that’s one of the problems. If it was a straight-up injury then they could say, but he clearly needs some time away from the sport.
“In the meantime, there won’t be much compassion from the governing bodies and I think they’ll move on, put the champion in recess and move forward with the belts.
“When Tyson is ready to fight again, we’ll all hopefully welcome him back into the sport. He’s great for the sport and has one of the biggest wins of all time. I want him in the division, Anthony Joshua wants him in the division. Everybody does because those big fights are out there.
“Hopefully he gets well soon and we’ll see him back in the ring soon but the show must go on and I think the governing bodies will be looking to act quickly.”
