By Tim Parsons-
Tyson Fury may be stripped of his world titles after calling off rematch with Wladimir Klitschko for a second time after apparently being declared “medically unfit to fight”.
Fury was due to defend his WBA and WBO heavyweight titles against former world champion, Wladimir Klitschko in Manchester on October 29.
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Fury’s management team, Hennessy Sport, sent a letter to the Klitschko camp citing mental health issues, adding they are not sure when he will be able to fight again.
“It is with the deepest regret that we have to announce that the world heavyweight championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, scheduled to take place on the 29th October 2016 at the Manchester Arena, will not be going ahead,” said Hennessy Sports.
“Tyson has, this week, been declared medically unfit to fight. Medical specialists have advised that the condition is too severe to allow him to participate in the rematch and that he will require treatment before going back into the ring. Tyson will now immediately undergo the treatment he needs to make a full recovery”.
Tyson Fury ended the 11-year reign of Wladimir Klitschko as heavyweight champion, and may just have handed him back the belt unless he is permitted to recover. It would indeed be ridiculous for the main world title belts to be in limbo for over a year.
“We and Tyson wish to express our sincerest apologies to all those concerned with the event and all the boxing fans who had been looking forward to the rematch. Tyson is understandably devastated by the development”.
The withdrawal comes as a blow to Klitschko, who has waited a year to attempt to regain his heavyweight title from the gypsy fighter who stunned the boxing world when he unanimously outpointed Klitschko last year November. In a twist of fate, the unorthodox 6ft 7 inches fighter has always criticised former WBA champion, David Haye, for pulling out twice against him in 2014 but has ironically had to do exactly the same thing.
Fury may now be stripped of the title, allowing Klitschko to fight somebody else for the titles he lost last year. The heavyweight division has recently become more exciting with the relative new emergence of Anthony Joshua and Deontey Wilder, but still has no decisive champion whilst it is unclear who the real dominant champion is. If Klitschko is allowed to fight another contender for the title, it will allow the heavyweight division to progress and give fans a chance to discover who the real dominant champion is, since it does not look good having the different world champions who all have the genuine potential to be the real champion.