Liam Happe
Eleven months ago, Tyson Fury’s upset of Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf threatened to finally open up a stagnant division that was once the toast of fight sports but had since been suffocated by Wlad and his brother Vitali.
It’s taken a little longer than expected, but the maximum-weight class is finally getting interesting… and yet, it could take just a little longer for things to really hit high gear.
So, let’s recap the status of the major heavyweight players and why 2017 should be the best time for the big dogs in 15 years since Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson belatedly gave us a dream fight with crazy hype for the unified titles.
And there’s no better place to start than the very top - or at least, the man who has just fallen from the proverbial mountain peak…
TYSON FURY
Fury’s reign as linear champion ended before he could ever defend the belts, thanks to a now-very public struggle with depression which Fury and his team attribute to the pressure and negative reactions surrounding his big feat.
The two major belts he still held until the day he vacated, the WBA and WBO straps, are still up in the air but the governing bodies are expected to announce a decision regarding their belts very soon. Linear status, meanwhile - or ‘The Ring’ championship - will be cleared up in its aftermath.
Whatever happens in Fury’s absence, it’s important to remember that his title win remains legit, even if his title reign was pretty much non-existent. He was busted for drug use during downtime after beating Klitschko, but if and when he returns to the ring he’ll immediately find himself back in contention for the belts he never lost.
When will that be? Uncle and trainer Peter is confident that Tyson will begin preparations by the Spring. “I see him being back in the gym in March or April,” he told the BBC. He’ll resume his career.”
That means - yes - he could well be back in the hunt in 2017.
WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
The man he unseated, meanwhile, is eager to right what he perceives as a wrong and reclaim the world heavyweight championship.
Despite turning 40 after the loss to Fury, he is adamant that he won’t be retiring any time soon and invoked his rematch clause, twice, only for Fury’s downfall to cancel the bout. It means that Wlad is very likely to spend the entire calendar year of 2016 on the sidelines, through no fault of his own.
Unless… the fight that the public have been buzzing about for weeks comes to fruition.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn hinted in the aftermath of the Fury vacation that Klitschko could very well end up taking on his man Anthony Joshua on December 10, for one (or both) of the now-freed up belts as well as Joshua’s IBF strap. News on that has been dragged out ever since, but we should find out whether or not Hearn has been giving us all false hope or not by the end of October.
Whether they fight before the year ends or the superfight fizzles out, only a devastating (and humiliating) KO loss inside four rounds to the unbeaten AJ would compel Wlad to opt out of the battle for heavyweight supremacy promising to break out in 2017.
ANTHONY JOSHUA
Speaking of the blistering British brute, Joshua is the most exciting of all the heavy contenders. Thanks to several potential swerves in his career path, he could also end up the most confusing.
Crowned a world champion sooner than many expected thanks to the political wranglings which cost Fury his IBF belt and indirectly placed it in his crosshairs, Joshua was due to fight next in late November. When Hearn made public the possibility of a Klitschko bout, suddenly December 10 was the date…
…for his fight with David Price.
Remember that guy? The man who looked set in 2012 to be Tyson Fury’s arch-nemesis for title contention and perhaps even the dominant force that Joshua himself ended up becoming is now far down the pecking order - but not far enough to be considered a suitable stand-in, in case a bout with Wlad in December isn’t viable.
That hasn’t sat well with fans, who quite frankly were promised a filet mignon heavyweight bout and could instead be served up a Wimpy burger. Joshua’s opponent isn’t certain yet but it will likely be one of those two, with a stark contrast on the fan interest scale between them.
And while this is by no means a reason to doubt AJ’s potential to unify the heavyweight division, as Hearn so readily suggests he will in between each frustration promotional announcement, it means we’re now hoping Joshua’s huge career-defining title bouts come to a stadium near you in… yep, 2017.
DAVID HAYE
Remember him? Of course you do.
Originally sidelined with a career-threatening shoulder injury, Haye announced his return to the ring after getting the all-clear (and, no doubt, getting a good whiff of all the mouth-watering potential paydays outlined above). He made short work of two nobodies in the first half of the year, but will probably take on a third less-than-intriguing opponent to close out the year before seeking a huge 2017 himself.
He told Yahoo Sport UK recently that he would love to gain revenge on Klitschko, who scored a decision win over Haye in 2011 to end his last world heavyweight title reign, and is also eyeing a British megafight with Joshua. However, he is likely to take on another domestic superclash next year before those can potentially come to fruition.
His well-documented pull-apart last week with WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew should lead to a catchweight collision amid much publicity. Assuming Haye overpowers the Liverpudlian, he’ll aim to dive straight into the deep waters after that and before 2017 ends.
DEONTAY WILDER
Finally, we have the wild card in this scenario and the world heavyweight champion currently flying under the radar.
The American, whose career mirrors Joshua’s to an extent with the decorated amateur background and the devastating (and unblemished) start to life as a pro, is closing in on his second anniversary as WBC kingpin. And yet, the big bouts have passed him by. For now.
“I just had this conversation with my manager as it seems like I am always missing out on the big fights,” Wilder told World Boxing News.
“I’m always optimistic about a lot of situations that I go through and the only thing that I can get out of these situations of me missing so many great opportunities is that God Is allowing everybody else to eat right now.
“He’s allowing everybody to make their money because soon I will unify the division. Once I unify the division am not going anywhere anytime soon, so we going to let everybody eat we going to let everybody get their money right now because, in the end, Deontay Wilder will be coming. And when he does he going to unify and all the belts, so there’ll be one person, one name and one face at the top and that’s Deontay Wilder.”
Using my handy professional-wrestler-style-third-person-speak-to-English translator, what that means is Wilder is ready to make his move in 2017.
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It wouldn’t be unfair at all to say that the boxing fanbase deserves some true excitement at heavyweight level after years of pining for the glory days of Ali, Foreman, Frazier et al. For once, it really seems like all of the pieces are falling into place for an exciting division once more.
Let’s just hope that 2017 is the year it finally comes off. Would it be harsh to consider anything less than three huge bouts comprised only of these five fighters over the course of next year a bit of a disappointment?
