LAS VEGAS (June 11, 2019) –  The undefeated lineal heavyweight champion of the world— Tyson Fury AKA “The Gypsy King” — put on a show Tuesday afternoon in Las Vegas at the media workout to promote Saturday’s title defense against Tom Schwarz at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

In the co-feature, former two-time super middleweight world title challenger Jesse “Hollywood” Hart will make his light heavyweight debut versus longtime contender Sullivan Barrera.

And, in the featured undercard bout, 2016 U.S. Olympian and top 130-pound contender Mikaela Mayer will look to extend her unbeaten record versus Lizbeth Crespo in a 10-rounder.

After working out at the MGM Grand, this is what the fighters had to say.

Tyson Fury

“I box because I like to keep happy and it keeps me happy to fight. I plan to box until I can’t box anymore. I feel fantastic at the minute. Boxing keeps me really happy, and I’m very happy with where I am in my life at the minute. I want to box on. I don’t see myself retiring. I just turned 30 years old. I’ve got over 10 years left in this game, so you’ll have to keep seeing me for the next 10 years, I’m afraid. Keep entertaining, keep putting on great shows.”

“The only title that I care about is the lineal championship of the world. It goes back a long, long way, and that’s the one I’m defending with pride and honor.”

“If you look at the Ring Magazine ratings, I think they get it quite right. I think that’s the official ratings of today, the most fair, the most accurate.”

On rising from the Deontay Wilder knockdown in the 12th round

“I think it was a higher power that brought me to my feet to spread the word on mental health and to help other people. I hope it inspired many people as I enjoyed getting up off that canvas and fighting on. And it takes more than a punch to knock me down and make me stay down.”

Tom Schwarz 

“I love Las Vegas. This is a great opportunity for me. I’ll win this fight. I’m ready.”

“I’m fighting for my family and my country. I have a lot of inspiration. I’m ready to shock the world. This is a great time in the heavyweight division, and I am happy to be part of it. On Saturday night, it’s my time. I am prepared. Tyson Fury picked me for a reason, and I promise a great fight, a dramatic fight, and a memorable moment for all boxing fans.”

“My trainers and I have seen every fight of Tyson’s many times. We’ve analyzed his style and have prepared our best strategy. I have a surprise for Tyson Fury, and he will see what it is on Saturday night.”

“I take inspiration from German heavyweights of the past, including Max Schmeling. It might be time for a German heavyweight to shock the world again.”

Jesse Hart

“When I beat him Saturday, I think this is the last you all are going to hear of Sullivan Barrera. Get a look at him, get a picture with him. After Saturday night, we’re going to put him in retirement.”

“Tyson Fury is a very colorful guy, an entertainer. He has added life to the heavyweight division. I’m happy to be on this card, and I am looking to put on a show.”

“The 175-pound division is wide open, and I am ready to finally win that world title. Sullivan Barrera is in my way, and I am going to smash him.”  

“This is my first fight at light heavyweight. I’m fighting a big puncher, a big name and I am bringing devastating power with me to the division. Watch out.”

Sullivan Barrera

“Inside the ring, I will give everything. Jesse Hart knows he’s never fought anyone like Sullivan Barrera. He is scared.”

“He is coming up from 168, but the punching power at 175 is not the same. I am a different level than what he’s used to. It’s going to be a long night for him.”

“For me, every fight is important, I am training hard. He’s talking crap, so I am going to shut his mouth.”

Mikaela Mayer

“I want to challenge for a world title soon. My team and Top Rank have moved me well these last two years. We’ve fought some really quality opponents, so we’re ready for the world titles at 130.”

ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

Tyson Fury (champion) vs. Tom Schwarz (challenger), 12 rounds, Fury’s Lineal world heavyweight title,

Jesse Hartvs. Sullivan Barrera, 10 rounds, light heavyweight

ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT

Mikaela Mayer vs. Lizbeth Crespo, 10 rounds, super featherweight

Andy Vences vs. Albert Bell, 10 rounds, Vences’ WBC Continental Americas super featherweight belt

Peter Kadiru vs. Juan Torres, 4 rounds, heavyweight

SWING BOUTS

Sonny Conto vs. Daniel Infante, 4 rounds, heavyweight

Cem Kilic vs. Martez McGregor 8 rounds, super middleweight

ABOUT FURY VS. SCHWARZ

FURY vs. SCHWARZ, the 12-round fight for the lineal heavyweight championship of the world, is presented by Top Rank in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing, and is sponsored by Geico. 

FURY vs. SCHWARZ will take place Saturday, June 15, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA, and will be produced by Top Rank and ESPN and streamed live on ESPN+.

Tickets priced at $500, $300, $100 an $50 are on sale now can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtag #FurySchwarz to join the conversation on social media.

This Saturday, June 15, ESPN+ will bring boxing fans an exclusive Top Rank Boxing triple-header, culminating with unbeaten lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury against top contender Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas.

The action starts on ESPN+ bright and early, at 6am ET when Australian twin brothers Andrew Moloney (19-0, 12 KO) and Jason Moloney (18-1, 15 KO) are both in action fromSeagulls Stadium, Tweeds Head, Australia. The 28-year-old twin rising stars, will both take the ring, as Jason (no. 6 in ESPN.com’s Bantamweight rankings) will defend his WBA Oceania Bantamweight title against Tanzania’s challenger Goodluck Mrema (23-4, 13 KO), while brother Andrew (ESPN.com’s no. 10 ranked Junior Bantamweight) faces offagainst former Tanzanian Champion Selemani Bangaiza (15-5, 5 KO). Andrew is coming off a significant victory in March, having demolished the highly rated Chilean Miguel Gonzalez on Gonzalez’ home turf in San Francisco de Mostazal.

At 3pm ET the action moves to England for a battle of unbeatens squaring off for the IBF Featherweight Championship, as defending champion Josh Warrington (28-0, 6 KO) and unbeaten challenger Kid Galahad (26-0, 15 KO) meet in Leeds.  Warrington (ranked no. 2 in ESPN.com’s Featherweight rankings) will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd and defending his title for the second time, having taken the title from Lee Selby in May 2018 and defended it in December in an intense clash with Carl Frampton. He faces Galahad (ranked no. 8 by ESPN.com), the mandatory challenger following an October defeat of Toka Kahn Clary in Boston. Born in Qatar, Galahad has lived most of his life in Sheffield, England, making this a Yorkshire Derby.

The big day of boxing culminates with Fury (27-0-1, 19 KO), the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King” and one of boxing’s most compelling fighters, meeting Schwarz at the MGM in Grand Las Vegas.  The fight marks the first in a multi-fight agreement announced in February, in which Fury’s fights are co-promoted by Top Rank and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions. Fury captured the lineal heavyweight title on Nov. 28, 2015, with a unanimous decision over longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko. That win catapulted him to worldwide fame, but a host of personal demons threatened to end his career before he could defend his title. He blew up to 400-plus pounds, only to author a 2018 comeback that ranks among the great redemption stories in sporting history. In the third fight of his comeback, Fury fought WBC champion Deontay Wilder to a disputed draw in a sensational fight of the year candidate.

The co-feature for the evening’s fight card will see a light heavyweight clash between former world title challengers Jesse Hart (25-2, 21 KO) and Sullivan Barrera (22-2, 14 KO). A full seven-bout undercard for the Fury-Schwarz fight will be carried live on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, beginning at 7p.m. ET.

In just over a year since its launch, ESPN+ has already become a must-have destination for boxing fans, having already carried 21 exclusive world title fights, across 12 different weight classes and the four major sanctioning bodies (IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO).  ESPN+ also has thousands of hours of the greatest boxing matches of all time, on-demand, from the ESPN Big Fights Library and Top Rank Boxing Library.

TOP RANK ON ESPN+:  JUNE 15 BOXING SCHEDULE (all times ET)

* Undercard bouts carried live on ESPN2 & ESPN Deportes from 7-10 p.m.

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer, thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.

This Sunday unbeaten lineal heavyweight champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury sits down with E:60 reporter Jeremy Schaap for an exclusive interview where he will discuss the controversial Deontay Wilder fight, his struggles with substance abuse and his incredible return to boxing.

Fury, who returned to the ring after two years away battling depression and substance abuse, made headlines after an incredible fight with Deontay Wilder ended in a controversial draw. Despite the draw, the fight put Fury back on the map and has brought into sports headlines a rumored rematch between the two in 2020.

Schaap traveled to Fury’s home in England for the interview that will air on E:60 this Sunday ahead of Fury’s next fight on June 15 in Las Vegas against Tom Schwarz.

Beverly Hills, Calif. (June 5, 2019) – Undefeated super middleweight Cem Kilic will look to take another step towards the world rankings when he takes on Martez McGregor on Saturday, June 15th at The MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The fight will be part of the Tyson Fury – Tom Schwarz undercard.

Kilic of Frankfort, Germany, who now calls Los Angeles, California home, has a record of 13-0 with eight knockouts.

The 24 year-old Kilic has upped his resume and reputation thanks to wins over Jerhed Fenderson (1-0), Joe Amouta (7-1-1), and a nationally televised win over DeAndre Ware (12-0-2).

In his last bout, Kilic stopped Zacariah Kelly in two rounds on February 15th in Hinckley, Minnesota.

“I have had a great training camp for this fight with my head trainer Buddy McGirt,” said Kilic. “I have been sparring with Sergey Kovalev for the last month, and I am in the best shape of my life. I am excited to showcase my talent on June 15th, and to make history as the first fighter from Turkey to fight at the MGM Grand! Big thanks to my manager Shane Shapiro and my promoter Greg Cohen for getting me this opportunity.”

“Cem is really peaking at the right time of his career. While this is only his 14th pro fight, being in training camps the last four years with legendary fighters like Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosley, Sergey Kovalev, Jermell Charlo, and Errol Spence Jr. has helped him develop into a fighter well beyond 13 fights on his professional record. I am anxious for the world to see Cem Kilic live on ESPN 2 come June 15th,” said Shane Shapiro of No Limit Mindset LLC.

McGregor of Chicago. has a record of 8-1 with six knockouts.

The 28 year-old McGregor has a win of previously undefeated Luis Jimenez (3-0). McGregor has won five in a row, which includes his last bout, when he stopped David Mason in the 1st round on February 22nd in Elk Grove, Illinois.

Kilic is the 1st fighter from Turkey to fight at The MGM Grand.

Kilic is managed by No Limit Mindset LLC. He is promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions.

The bout can be seen on ESPN 2.

LAS VEGAS (June 4, 2019) — A pair of unbeaten super featherweight contenders will get a chance to shine on the sport’s biggest stage. Andy “El Tiburon” Vences will defend his WBC Continental Americas belt in a 10-rounder against Albert “Prince” Bell June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Tyson Fury-Tom Schwarz undercard.

Vences-Bell and Mikaela Mayer-Lizbeth Crespo will anchor the live Fury-Schwarz undercard broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.

Fury-Schwarz and Jesse Hart-Sullivan Barrera will stream on ESPN+, the leading multi-sport streaming service, starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Vences-Bell was originally set to take place June 8 in Reno, Nevada, on the Oscar Valdez-Jason Sanchez undercard, but both fighters are excited to take their talents to Las Vegas.

“We were prepared to fight June 8, so this doesn’t change anything. I know this is a big opportunity and that a win would be huge for my career,” Vences said. “I can see Bell getting hurt this fight. He is the only one standing in my way as I move toward a world title shot. He can hit and move all he wants, but it’s going to take much more than that to get my respect.”

“All this does is give me one extra week to train,” Bell said. “I am excited and blessed to be fighting at the MGM Grand on the same card as the heavyweight champion.”

Vences (22-0-1, 12 KOs), from San Jose, California, has won two in a row since a closely contested draw against Erick De Leon on the Oscar Valdez-Scott Quigg undercard March 10 of last year. He is coming off a shutout unanimous decision over Dardan Zenunaj Feb. 10 in Fresno, California. Bell (14-0, 5 KOs), from Toledo, Ohio, has never been close to defeat as a pro but will be taking a giant step up in competition versus Vences. A 2012 National Golden Gloves champion as an amateur, Bell last fought Feb. 15 in Hinckley, Minnesota, scoring a decision win over the durable Edward Kakembo.

ABOUT FURY VS. SCHWARZ

FURY vs. SCHWARZ, the 12-round fight for the lineal heavyweight championship of the world, is presented by Top Rank in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing, and is sponsored by Geico. 

FURY vs. SCHWARZ will take place Saturday, June 15, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA, and will be produced by Top Rank and ESPN and streamed live on ESPN+.

Tickets priced at $500, $300, $100 an $50 are on sale now can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Use the hashtag #FurySchwarz to join the conversation on social media.

About Top Rank
Innovation has been the standard at Top Rank since it was established in 1966 by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. The boxing industry’s leading promotional company, Top Rank has shaped, developed, and promoted the careers of top international pay-per-view superstars and Hall of Famers, including Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Terence Crawford, and Vasiliy Lomachenko. 

Top Rank has promoted some of the most memorable fights in the sport’s history, including 26 Ali events, Leonard vs. Hearns, Pryor vs. Arguello, Duran vs. Leonard, Hagler vs. Hearns, Leonard vs. Hagler, Foreman vs. Holyfield, Morales vs. Barrera, De La Hoya vs. Trinidad, and the most lucrative fight in boxing history, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. In addition to the previously mentioned super fights, Top Rank possesses one of the largest sports libraries, which includes nearly 10,000 fights.

Known for creating strategic collaborations between athletes, sponsors, and television networks, Top Rank has been an architect of boxing’s global growth by staging high-profile events in landmark settings around the world, including Madison Square Garden, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Staples Center, Wembley Arena, Araneta Coliseum, The Venetian Macao, Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, The “Fabulous” Forum, and AT&T Stadium. Top Rank has also been the leader within the boxing industry in creating unforgettable in-arena experiences for fans and embracing 21^st century technological advancements to distribute world-class fights and shoulder programming across a variety of platforms.

About Queensberry Promotions 
Queensberry Promotions is the promotional vehicle of Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren.

Frank Warren has promoted some of the sport of boxing’s biggest names in his 35+ year career including the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton; as well as current stars Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton.

Some of the events promoted by Frank Warren during his illustrious career include Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium, David Haye v Derek Chisora at Upton Park, Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu at Manchester Arena, Prince Naseem Hamed v Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden and Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Queensberry Promotions has a long-term exclusive deal in the UK to promote boxing events on BT Sport, the sport broadcast platform of telecoms giant BT.

About MTK Global
MTK Global is the world’s foremost fighter management company. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it was founded in September 2012 by two-time European boxing champion, Matthew Macklin.

MTK Global delivers a wide range of support and services including career development, legal, media, endorsements and sponsorships to more than a hundred professional fighters. It provides boxing shows, events and training gyms in various locations worldwide: Marbella, Spain, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, United Kingdom, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sta. Catarina, Brazil and Sydney, Australia.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.

About MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also has been home to annual events including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Latin GRAMMY Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Championship and Frozen Fury NHL pre-season games hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.

LAS VEGAS (May 29, 2019) — Jesse “Hollywood” Hart and Sullivan Barrera understand high stakes and are coming to Las Vegas, intent on cashing in with a potential world title shot on the line. Hart and Barrera will square off in a 10-round light heavyweight bout Saturday, June 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Hart-Barrera will serve as the co-feature to lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s title defense against unbeaten German challenger Tom Schwarz.

Fury-Schwarz and Hart-Barrera will stream live in the United States exclusively on ESPN+ — the leading multi-sport streaming service – beginning at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.

The undercard will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. PST and will showcase undefeated 2016 Olympian Mikaela Mayer (10-0, 4 KOs), who will fight former world title challenger Lizbeth Crespo (13-4, 3 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight bout.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing, tickets priced at $500, $300, $100 and $50 are on sale now can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.

“On June 15, I’m coming to knock him out,” Hart said. “I refuse to lose. This is a legacy fight. I want the big names. I need a big name, and Barrera is the name. I don’t want to just win and coast to some boring decision. I’m coming to prove to the world that I can fight with these bigger guys. After I knock Barrera out, I’m coming for all the champions. The light heavyweights better watch out because ‘Hollywood’ Hart is here.”

“I am excited to face Jesse Hart, a great fighter who has also been in there with world champions,” Barrera said. “This is a must-win fight. Simple as that. Camp has been great for me, and I am looking forward to June 15. It’s going to be a great card, and I am going to show everyone in Las Vegas and watching on ESPN+ what I’m truly made of.”

Hart (25-2, 21 KOs) had two cracks at the WBO super middleweight world title, losing a pair of close decisions to longtime champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez. The Ramirez rematch, which took place last December in Corpus Christi, Texas, was a bruising affair that saw Hart rally in the second half before losing a majority decision. Eleven of Hart’s last 12 victories have come via knockout, and he hopes to carry that power up to the light heavyweight ranks. The Philadelphia native fought on the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao undercard in 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, knocking out Mike Jimenez in six rounds.

Barrera (22-2, 14 KOs), from Cuba, defected to the United States in 2009 and turned pro later that year. The Miami-based bruiser won the first 17 bouts of his career before dropping a decision to pound-for-pound great Andre Ward. A perennial contender, Barrera holds victories over Joe Smith Jr., Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, Karo Murat and former super middleweight world champion Jeff Lacy. He challenged Dmitry Bivol for a light heavyweight world title last year and fought valiantly before being stopped in the 12^th and final round.

Mayer is one of female boxing’s rising stars and has dominated her opposition as a professional. She went 6-0 in 2018, winning the NABF belt on August 25 with a shutout decision over the previously undefeated Vanessa Bradford. She made her 2019 debut February 15 in Hinckley, Minnesota, outclassing Yareli Larios over eight rounds. Crespo fought IBF featherweight world champion Jennifer Han in February 2018, dropping a tightly contested unanimous decision.

“It’s been a dream of mine to see women fighting alongside marquee names like Tyson Fury, and I’m grateful to be fighting at the MGM Grand on June 15,” Mayer said. “There’s still a lot the world hasn’t seen when it comes to my style and I’m ready to show everyone something special.”

In addition to Mayer-Crespo, the ESPN2/ESPN Deportes undercard broadcast will also include the following fights:

• Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello (3-0, 3 KOs), a 6-foot-6 heavyweight who represented his native Italy at the 2016 Rio Olympics, will return in a six-rounder.
   
• Featherweight Isaac Lowe (17-0-3, 6 KOs), a stablemate of Fury’s, will fight an opponent to be named in a 10-rounder.
   
• Top super middleweight prospect Cem “Champ” Kilic (13-0, 8 KOs) will see action in an eight-rounder against an opponent to be determined.
   
• Sonny Conto (2-0, 2 KOs), as big-punching heavyweight from Philadelphia, will make his Las Vegas debut in a four-rounder. Conto’s two professional fights — both first-round knockouts — have lasted a total of 3:30.
   
• German heavyweight prospect Peter Kadiru (3-0, 1 KO) will fight an opponent to be named in a six-rounder.

For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook:facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.

Sign-up to ESPN+ at www.espnplus.com.

Use the hashtags #FurySchwarz and #HartBarrera to join the conversation on social media.

About Top Rank
Innovation has been the standard at Top Rank since it was established in 1966 by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. The boxing industry’s leading promotional company, Top Rank has shaped, developed, and promoted the careers of top international pay-per-view superstars and Hall of Famers, including Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Terence Crawford, and Vasiliy Lomachenko. 

Top Rank has promoted some of the most memorable fights in the sport’s history, including 26 Ali events, Leonard vs. Hearns, Pryor vs. Arguello, Duran vs. Leonard, Hagler vs. Hearns, Leonard vs. Hagler, Foreman vs. Holyfield, Morales vs. Barrera, De La Hoya vs. Trinidad, and the most lucrative fight in boxing history, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. In addition to the previously mentioned super fights, Top Rank possesses one of the largest sports libraries, which includes nearly 10,000 fights.

Known for creating strategic collaborations between athletes, sponsors, and television networks, Top Rank has been an architect of boxing’s global growth by staging high-profile events in landmark settings around the world, including Madison Square Garden, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Staples Center, Wembley Arena, Araneta Coliseum, The Venetian Macao, Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, The “Fabulous” Forum, and AT&T Stadium. Top Rank has also been the leader within the boxing industry in creating unforgettable in-arena experiences for fans and embracing 21^st century technological advancements to distribute world-class fights and shoulder programming across a variety of platforms.

About Queensberry Promotions 
Queensberry Promotions is the promotional vehicle of Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren.

Frank Warren has promoted some of the sport of boxing’s biggest names in his 35+ year career including the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton; as well as current stars Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton.

Some of the events promoted by Frank Warren during his illustrious career include Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium, David Haye v Derek Chisora at Upton Park, Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu at Manchester Arena, Prince Naseem Hamed v Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden and Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Queensberry Promotions has a long-term exclusive deal in the UK to promote boxing events on BT Sport, the sport broadcast platform of telecoms giant BT.

About MTK Global
MTK Global is the world’s foremost fighter management company. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it was founded in September 2012 by two-time European boxing champion, Matthew Macklin.

MTK Global delivers a wide range of support and services including career development, legal, media, endorsements and sponsorships to more than a hundred professional fighters. It provides boxing shows, events and training gyms in various locations worldwide: Marbella, Spain, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, United Kingdom, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sta. Catarina, Brazil and Sydney, Australia.

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.

About MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also has been home to annual events including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Latin GRAMMY Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Championship and Frozen Fury NHL pre-season games hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.

LINEAL heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is shocked that the sensational heavyweight prospects Daniel Dubois and Nathan Gorman are meeting so early in their careers.

The young guns clash for the vacant British heavyweight title on Frank Warren’s ‘Heavy Duty’ card at The O2, London on Saturday July 13, live on BT Sport.

Dubois (11-0, 10KOs) and Gorman (16-0, 11KOs) are both tipped to reach the top by Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, who insists he that defeat will not spell the end for the loser.

Fury who fights Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas next month is sure to be ringside and has been training alongside Gorman in Manchester.

He said: “It’s a good fight and if it was up to me, I wouldn’t let them fight each other because they are both young and unbeaten prospects.”

Also on the card is Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce (9-0, 9KOs), another world class prospect who could face the winner later this year.

Fury added: “I study heavyweight boxing and they are all good lads. I’ve sparred with Joe, Dubois and Gorman.

“They are all unbeaten prospects and all big men. Why can’t they do it? It’s there for them to do and it’s not impossible if they dedicate and sacrifice their lives.”

Tickets for ‘Heavy Duty’ featuring Daniel Dubois v Nathan Gorman for the vacant British Heavyweight Title, plus Olympic silver medallist Joe Joyce are on sale now via AXS.com, Eventim and Ticketmaster and are priced as below:
 
£300 – (Hospitality)
£200 – Floor
£150 – Floor
£100 – Tier/Floor
£75 – Floor/Tier
£50 – Tier
£40 – Tier

NEW YORK – May 21, 2019 – SHOWTIME Sports original documentary series ALL ACCESS earned two Sports Emmy Awards on Tuesday night at the 40th Annual Sports Emmy Award ceremony in New York City. These were the fourth and fifth Emmys overall for the ALL ACCESS series, which debuted in 2013.

The original series took home the honors for Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage for ALL ACCESS: WILDER vs. FURY EPILOGUE and Outstanding Edited Sports Special or Series for ALL ACCESS: WILDER VS. FURY.

Accepting the awards on Tuesday was Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc. Espinoza recognized and thanked one of the main subjects, WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay Wilder, who was in attendance (following his first-round knockout victory on Saturday night in Brooklyn) to present multiple awards at Fredrick P. Rose Hall at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Espinoza also acknowledged SHOWTIME Sports Senior Creative Director Jonathan (Jody) Heaps, one of the driving forces behind ALL ACCESS since its inception, who is retiring after more than 30 years at the network.

This is the third Sports Emmy ALL ACCESS has earned in the Edited Sports Coverage category. The series, which chronicles the buildup and aftermath of boxing’s biggest prizefights, has previously won for EPILOGUE installments following Floyd Mayweather’s wins over Canelo Alvarez and Andre Berto.

Other nominees for Outstanding Edited Sports Event Coverage were Courtside at the NBA Finals (HBO), Mic’d Up: Super Bowl LIII (NFL Network), Road To The Super Bowl (CBS) and Tiger Woods – Return of the Roar (ESPN). The nominees for Outstanding Edited Sports Special or Series were 24/7: The Match: Tiger vs. Phil (HBO), A Football Life (NFL Network). NFL 360: Steve Gleason (NFL Network) and UFC 25 Years in Short (UFC Fight Pass).

SHOWTIME Sports has now earned 12 Sports Emmy Awards in the last eight years.

BRITISH boxing idols Tyson Fury and George Groves are in disagreement over the sensational heavyweight showdown between the division’s leading prospects Daniel Dubois and Nathan Gorman.

The vacant British heavyweight title will be on the line when Dubois (11-0, 10 KOs and Gorman (16-0, 11 KOs) clash at The O2, London on Saturday July 13, live on BT Sport.

Lineal world heavyweight champion Fury is firmly in the camp of his cousin Gorman and has been helping him in early stages of training.

The pair have been sparring at the gym of Ricky Hatton who trains the hopeful and Fury has been on hand to give advice.

Former WBA super-middleweight champion Groves is sold on Dubois and believes he has the potential to become a boxing great.

Fury who is preparing to fight Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas on June 15 dismissed the claims of Groves.

He is confident Gorman will triumph and roared in a recent training session: “Daniel Dubois, he’s coming!”

Gorman confirmed “Tyson is backing me one hundred per cent. He fully believes I have the ingredients to beat Daniel. It’s good to be around him, it’s fantastic to have him in the gym.”

Groves first spotted KO artist Dubois several years ago when he trained at his old amateur club.

He said: “I remember seeing Daniel Dubois in Dale Youth amateur gym. I look back and think; ’Why didn’t I go back in time and sign him’?

“He has so much more to develop and learn. He can become the best if not the best in the heavyweight division.

“He hasn’t put a foot wrong, but there is something about him and it’s a good thing –

It is like having a young junior who still looks boyish and you know what a handful he’ll be when he gets his man strength. It’s the case with Daniel.

“Dubois has phenomenal punch power, but I feel like the nitty gritty boxing skills and know-how will come with experience.

Recently retired Groves told the 5 Live Boxing Podcast with Costello & Bunce that the battle has Fight of the Year potential, adding: “I am happy for this fight because they are young enough for the loser to rebuild.

“It’s a good fight for both of them and the winner will go onto something else. They are both willing to put it on the line and it’s a real fight.

“It is fascinating that they know each other so well and it’s good for them to be in a real fight.”

Tickets for ‘Heavy Duty’ featuring Daniel Dubois v Nathan Gorman for the vacant British Heavyweight Title, plus Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce are on sale now via AXS.com, Eventim and Ticketmaster and are priced as below:

£300 – (Hospitality)
£200 – Floor
£150 – Floor
£100 – Tier/Floor
£75 – Floor/Tier
£50 – Tier
£40 – Tier

Over the past two decades, esteemed fight face Mick Hennessy navigated stars such as Froch, Witter, Barker, Eastman and the Fury cousins (Tyson and Hughie) through the fistic jungle and on to international acclaim. Now the innovative promoter’s son Michael Junior is poised to enrich the family’s fighting legacy…between the ropes!

The 19 year old 6ft 1in middleweight is an amateur centurion who served a quality ring apprenticeship on both sides of the Irish Sea and as a spar hand within several of the capital’s most revered pro academies.

Now the angel-faced action man intends utilising dad’s influence to take the outside lane to the top in the paid sphere.

While licences and medicals are due to be issued, the intention is to unleash Michael into the profession on his dad’s show at Manchester’s Victoria Warehouse on May 25th headlined by Hughie Fury’s return to the ring against Chris Norrard, exclusively live on Channel 5.

‘I’ve got a very exciting, TV friendly style. I love to fight and, in future, when I need to, the public will enjoy seeing me go toe-to-toe. Once people see me in action they’ll begin to realise I’ve served a very hard apprenticeship and I belong at this level.” quips Junior in a soft tone that belies the spite and aggression for which he is lauded once his boxing gloves are laced.

The Noble Art has been a fundamental factor in Michael Jr’s existence since before he could recite his alphabet.

‘Boxing’s my life,’ states bright boy Michael, who attained five A Stars and five A grades at GCSE level whilst also competing at the highest level of amateur boxing.

‘I’ve been attending my dad’s shows since I was as young as four or five. Dad’s biggest stars from fighters, to trainers to managers and promoters, were always around. During my teens, Dad paid me to work part-time in his office, where I got a behind the scenes look of how the game really works! I’ve been surrounded by the fight game my whole life.

‘My Dad never wanted me to box but it was inevitable. I started badgering him as young as six or seven but, initially, he always told me: ‘No’. He said if I still wanted to do it when I was 11, he’d take me to the gym and we shook hands on the deal.

‘True to his word, on my 11th birthday, I was taken to the local Sevenoaks ABC gym and also when in Ireland the St. Monica’s club in Newry (where Michael remained for the whole of his amateur career under Owen Murphy). I had my first bout just two months later and was fast tracked. I’d attend the gym on Monday and Wednesdays, then practise on the pads at home with Dad, every other night.’

Over time, the teen terror – who subsequently joined Body Shots Academy later on as his English club, but was coached from the off by his father – evolved into one of the most seasoned starlets on the unpaid circuit, scouring the seas in search of the trials and tests that could accelerate his development.

‘I had well over 100 amateur bouts but at least 60% were in Ireland where my dad’s family are from. I must have won well over three quarters,’ recalls the eldest of Hennessy Senior’s three children.

‘As an amateur, I won multiple Box Cups, and multiple London, Ulster, Antrim and Nine Counties titles. Having got to the semi-finals and finals of a few different prestigious national tournaments, I believe that if there was fair play involved, I would also have national titles on my record.

‘But, truthfully, as an amateur, it was always just about learning and gathering experience to succeed later in the pros.’

Encased in a boxing bubble from birth was always going to bring advantages but Papa Mick, himself a useful amateur during his youth around the Old Kent Road, disclosed that, from his formative years in the sport, young Michael rejected any notion of being ‘silver spooned’ through the sport.

‘As Michael was lying in bed after his third win, aged 11, I complemented him on a brilliant performance. As I went to leave the room, he said with this huge smile ‘Dad, 3 and 0!’ recalls Mick the promoter turned teacher.

‘I returned to his bedside and told him: ‘Son, in amateur boxing, there’ll be a lot of heartbreak; politics and bad decisions. Sure, I can keep you on home shows, where you won’t fight as much and we can go on a long unbeaten run or I can take you on the road where sometimes you’ll lose, other times you’ll get shafted but you’ll certainly learn to fight. What’s it to be?’ Without blinking, he replied: ‘The road, dad!’

‘Consequently, Michael has been boxing at an elite level since the beginning. He’s been very competitive his whole career against National, Commonwealth, European and World medalists, and also holds some notable wins over some of them.

‘For the pros, he’ll definitely need to tighten his defence, mind. He’s very, very aggressive if left to his own devices but I intend for Michael to have a long and successful career.’

Despite his tender years, slender frame and cherubic features, Hennessy Jr is adamant that he possesses the hardware required to flourish within The Hardest Game.

‘Most of the other amateurs boxed pretty much the same, darting in and out, picking points but, from day dot, I had a pro style that distinguished me, set me apart,’ states Michael who now studies Business and Property Development through open study.

‘I’ve been moving around with pros and doing the long rounds, from a young age. I won’t need to make many adjustments for the pros.

‘Despite being tall and slim, I like to work inside, I love the body shots and working up close. Lee Wilkins, trainer and owner of Body Shots gym nicknamed me ‘Miguel Hernandez’ at 14 due to my initials and because I fought like a Mexican. It caught on with all the lads and the nickname Miguel seems to have stuck.’

And this most engaging of young men is intent on making quite a splash when he debuts sans singlet and with the free-to-air Channel Five cameras rolling, in Manchester on Saturday week.

‘I’m not at all nervous about this; just relaxed and excited,’ concludes Michael.

‘I’m going straight into six-threes. Four-threes would be too similar to an amateur fight. We’re unsure on the opponent at the moment,”

‘But whoever it is, I’m looking to put on a spectacular performance and, hopefully get, a kayo victory. It’s going to be the start of an epic journey to the top!

You can follow Michael’s journey on social media: @mhennessyjr

Tickets priced at £40 & £70 are available from http://vipboxing.tv/shop/vip-tickets/hughie-fury-saturday-25th-may-victoria-warehouse/ and 01942 874 241

Billy Joe Saunders, Tyson Fury and their trainer, Ben Davison arrived at Stevenage in style when they attended their public workout which took place in front of hundreds of local supporters outside Stevenage FCs’ Lamex Stadium- the location for Billy Joe Saunders vs Shefat Isufi on May 18.

Local Hertfordshire boxer, Saunders, will attempt to become a two-weight world champion when he faces the Munich-based Albanian, Isufi.

The WBO World Super Middleweight title will be on the line on May 18th, and Billy Joe Saunders arrived workout-ready after his helicopter journey.

Tyson, however, opted to arrive in a more fashionable outfit- wearing a white tee and blazer, along with a pair of pink shorts.

Fury is now just six weeks away from his Las Vegas fight night at the MGM Grand, where he faces undefeated German Tom Schwarz.

Billy Joe Saunders and Tyson Fury entertained the hundreds in attendance which saw Ben Davison put both of his fighters through their paces on the pads, whilst they also took turns on the microphone to entertain the crowd.

“I’m feeling good, it’s good having Tyson in camp, both training hard and we’re both pushing each other on for our upcoming fights.” said Billy Joe Saunders on the Lamex Stadium pitch before the local football team’s crucial match against Cheltenham Town.

“It’s a fantastic stadium, a good venue for my fight- it’s my homecoming and I am very excited to be fighting at Stevenage football club.

When asked about his opponent, Shefat Isufi; “I know that my opponent is getting his face punched in on May 18th and that’s all you need to know about him!

“But seriously, he’s a strong lad, but he won’t bring anything I haven’t seen before.”

Tyson Fury joined his stablemate onto the pitch holding a Stevenage FC scarf above his head, which was received with a massive cheer by the local supporters inside the Lamex Stadium.

Tyson added; “He’s been fantastic in the gym and he is really looking forward to the event, only two weeks to go and I’m looking forward to being here on the night myself- and hopefully the weather will be fantastic for everybody!”

Billy Joe Saunders v Shefat Isufi headlines the bill at the Lamex Stadium, home of Stevenage FC, with unbeaten heavyweight Joe Joyce in the chief supporting contest against Alexander Ustinov.

Tickets can be purchased via borotickets.co.uk and are priced as below:

£250 – Hospitality
£150 – Pitch
£100 – Pitch
£75 – Pitch
£50 – Stand
£40 – Stand

LAS VEGAS (April 24, 2019) — Here comes the “Gypsy King.”

Tickets for the Las Vegas debut of lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury — Saturday, June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena — will go on sale TOMORROW, April 25 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST/6 p.m. GMT.

Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs), who defeated long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015 to win the crown, will defend his title against unbeaten German contender Tom Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs).

Fury-Schwarz will be available live in the United States exclusively on ESPN+ — the leading multi-sport streaming service – beginning at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.

The event will be promoted by Top Rank, in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing.

Tickets priced at $500, $300, $100 and $50 can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.

Richard Sturm, President of Las Vegas Live Entertainment and Sports, said, “We look forward to hosting the Fury-Schwarz heavyweight fight at MGM Grand on June 15. These two exciting fighters, known by boxing fans worldwide, will be sure to put on a blockbuster event this summer.”

Fury will be making his first ring appearance since a draw last December 1 versus WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Despite being knocked down twice, including the 1-2 combination felt around the world in the 12th round, most ringside observers believed Fury did more than enough to win the fight.

Schwarz, the WBO No. 2 heavyweight contender, is one of Europe’s leading heavyweights and has not gone the distance in his last six fights. He has fought all but two of his bouts in his native Germany and will be making his United States debut against Fury. In his last fight, March 2 in Magdeburg, Germany, he knocked out Kristijan Krstacic in two rounds.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.espnplus.com.

LAS VEGAS (April 8, 2019) — The biggest star in world heavyweight boxing — all 6 feet 9 inches of him — is coming to the fight capital of the world.

Unbeaten lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King,” will defend his title against top contender Tom Schwarz Saturday, June 15 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be promoted by Top Rank, in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing.

Fury-Schwarz will be available live in the United States exclusively on ESPN+ — the leading multi-sport streaming service – beginning at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.

The fight marks the first in a multi-fight agreement announced in February, in which Fury’s fights are co-promoted by Top Rank and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and are a headline piece of the boxing lineup under the historic, long-term Top Rank on ESPN relationship.

Tickets priced at $600, $450, $300, $200, $100 and $50 (not including applicable charges) go on sale to the general public Thursday, April 25 at 10 a.m. PST. Tickets can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.

“It’s with great pride that Top Rank and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, together with ESPN+ and MTK Global, will be able to present the leading heavyweight in the world and a megastar in boxing,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Tyson will be facing a tough, experienced and undefeated fighter in Tom Schwarz, who is coming to Las Vegas ready to shock the world.”

Fury said, “I’m absolutely delighted to be boxing in Las Vegas on ESPN+. I always said I will never go to Vegas until I box there and now I finally am. I can’t wait to put on a boxing master class for all my fans. The British and Irish fans will invade Vegas. I can’t wait!”

Schwarz said, “This is what I’ve been working for since I was a kid. A fight in Las Vegas against Tyson Fury is a dream come true. While I appreciate Tyson as a great fighter and a sportsman, I am young, ambitious and in the top of the world rankings. I‘ve won 24 fights, I’ve got nothing to lose, and my 25th victory will come against Fury.”

Warren said, “I’m very excited about starting the next chapter in the Tyson Fury story. With this new deal and co-promotion with Top Rank, it’s all about getting Tyson out there to a huge audience, and nobody can do that in America like ESPN. He’s the best heavyweight on the planet and the lineal champion. He’s a superstar, and there is nowhere better for a superstar to have his next fight than in the Mecca of boxing itself, Las Vegas. I would like to extend a special thanks to MTK Global for the role they have played in this exciting next step. BT will broadcast exclusively in the UK and an announcement will follow from them on how UK fans can watch Tyson’s return.”

“All the best fighters of the last decade-plus have fought in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and on June 15, you can add Tyson Fury to that list,” said Bob Yalen, president, MTK Global. “The world’s premier promoter, the world’s premier boxing venue and the world’s premier heavyweight, backed by the world’s premier management team on the world’s premier sports network…It is going to be a can’t-miss night of boxing.”

“Tyson Fury is an incredible boxer with an incredible story, two things that are right at home on ESPN+,” said Russell Wolff, executive vice president and general manager, ESPN+. “Tom Schwarz is young, ambitious and unbeaten. This fight adds to an ESPN+ boxing lineup that has been packed with champions in its first year, making it a must-have for any fan of the sweet science. And we’re just getting started.”

Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) captured the lineal heavyweight title on November 28, 2015, with a unanimous decision over long-time champion Wladimir Klitschko. That win catapulted him to worldwide celebrity, but a host of personal demons threatened to end his career before he could defend his title. He blew up to 400-plus pounds, only to author a 2018 comeback that ranks among the greatest redemption stories in sporting history. In the third fight of his comeback, December 1, 2018 in Los Angeles, Fury fought WBC champion Deontay Wilder to a disputed draw. His recovery from a hellacious 12th-round knockdown became an instant viral video sensation and the stuff of boxing legend.

Schwarz (24-0, 16 KOs) is a 24-year-old native of Halle, Germany, a 6-foot-5 boxer-puncher who has not gone the distance in his past six fights. Ranked No. 2 by the WBO and No. 9 by the IBF, Schwarz has fought all but two of his bouts in Germany but has climbed the world heavyweight rankings with a string of dominant performances. He captured the WBO Intercontinental belt in April 2017 with a second-round stoppage of Adnan Redzovic (18-1 at the time) and has since defended that belt four times. In his last bout, March 2 in Magdeburg, Germany, he knocked down Kristijan Krstacic three times in the second round to score the stoppage.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.espnplus.com.

Lineal Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will take on Tom Schwarz on June 15th in Las Vegas, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

The venue is not settled yet. Top Rank has the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on hold for the date and has a request in with the Nevada State Athletic Commission to put on the event there. The date request is on the agenda for the commission meeting on March 27. However, there is also a chance, according to multiple sources, that the fight will move down the street to an MGM Resorts International property in Las Vegas — either the MGM Grand Garden Arena or the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

By Norm Frauenheim-

Interim can mean just about anything. Interim is a way station, or a stop to nowhere, or a euphemism for forget-about-it. In a business where the word has been used way too much, it’s back all over again.

Forget about an immediate rematch. Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder will fight interim bouts. I’m not sure how to apply interim in this case, other than to say:

Meanwhile, it’s back to business as usual.

There was plenty of healthy anticipation and reported momentum toward a Wider-Fury rematch just a few weeks ago, when suddenly the optimism vanished, or perhaps was put on hold with Fury’s surprising deal with ESPN and Top Rank as a co-promoter. Welcome back to the waiting room, a place that is beginning to feel a lot more permanent than interim these days.

I get it. I understand the reason for pushing the projected rematch date from May 18 to later in the year. Timing for a later date makes sense, mostly because of Anthony Joshua’s British Invasion of America on June 1 at Madison Square Garden against Jarrell Miller. Joshua-Miller will happen nearly a month after Canelo Alvarez middleweight title defense on May 4 against Danny Jacobs.

A mid-May rematch wouldn’t leave much in the pay-per-view budget for most fans. What I don’t get are plans for interim bouts for both Fury and Wilder. Interim means risk, a huge gamble for both the fans and the fighters. Let’s face it, neither Fury or Wilder are great heavyweights. What they have is each other and the chance to extend their controversial draw on Dec. 1 at Los Angeles Staples Center into a compelling sequel and a good payday. But if either loses in the interim, who cares about a rematch? The real trouble is that either can lose to just about anybody. In the interim, consider Luis Ortiz, who in the interim is perhaps the biggest danger to Fury-Wilder II.

Ortiz is fighting Christian Hammer Saturday at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center. If he wins, he has a strong argument for a rematch with Wilder, who was losing on the scorecards when he scored a 10th-round stoppage of Ortiz a year ago. Ortiz could have beaten Wilder in March. He could beat him in May, too. Truth is, anybody from Dillian Whyte to Dominic Breazeale can beat Wilder.

Interim bouts are seen as a way to further introduce both Fury and Wilder to a wider audience. Despite the drama surrounding their December rematch, the PPV audience was reported to be 325,000. Top Rank’s Bob Arum guesses in several media reports that an immediate rematch would have done about 400,000. Arum hopes to market Fury, whose UK roots as an Irish Traveller has given him an innate sense of theater.

After getting up twice against Wilder in December, he got a room full of reporters at Staples to sing along in his own rendition of American Pie. Before the sing-along, he spread out his arms like a preacher and asked: “Did we entertain you?’’

Did he ever.

It is Arum’s thinking that the PPV number for the rematch could surpass one million if more people get to know the likable Fury. Nobody is more adept at creating celebrity than Arum’s Top Rank machine. But the marketing would be built around an interim bout. Therein, rests the danger.

As his unbeaten record attests, Fury is good enough to beat anybody, yet there are still questions about a heavyweight who got up, yet still absorbed a huge punch in a dangerous knockdown from the powerful Wilder.

There are further questions about whether a more skilled heavyweight might be more of a danger to Fury than the one-dimensional Wilder was in December.

Fury dominated the pace against Wilder with a good jab. He controlled the ring until Wilder’s power connected in the ninth and again in the 12th. A multi-skilled heavyweight might force Fury out of doing what he does best – a comfort zone he occupied for eight-plus rounds in December, a year after he was reportedly heavier than 400 pounds.

The fear here is that interim bouts will leave Fury and Wilder with nothing more than a couple of interim belts. It’s not worth the risk, especially for the fans who have been left holding a pile of interim for too long.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Tyson Fury will pass on an immediate rematch with WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

The WBC, which sanctions the belt held by Wilder, set a Wednesday night deadline to hear from the camps on how they planned to proceed with the rematch it had ordered.

On Tuesday, the answer came: Fury decided not to fight Wilder next and will instead fight an opponent to be determined in May or June on ESPN+. Fury still hopes to face Wilder again before the end of the year.

“We’ve spoken to Tyson and he has made the decision to go forward with another fight and to address a Wilder rematch after that,” Top Ranks’s Todd duBoef wrote in the email, which was copied to Fury and obtained by ESPN. “We all appreciate the WBC and the tremendous role it has played in Tyson’s career and hope the WBC will remain involved.”

“The WBC has received the official position from both sides regarding the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury rematch,” Sulaiman wrote in the email, which was also obtained by ESPN. “While Deontay Wilder confirmed that his only interest was to honor the WBC mandate for a rematch against Tyson Fury, Tyson Fury has confirmed that he would take a fight against a different opponent in his immediate future, hoping that after such, a rematch with Wilder can be considered. Consequently, the WBC is hereby cancelling the Wilder vs. Fury rematch mandate and process. We wish the best of luck to both fighters.”

“It’s obvious that Fury doesn’t want to fight us next,” Wilder manager, Shelly Finkel said. “Hopefully, we will get the next fight after that. So, in the meantime, we will do our own fight. We wanted to fight Fury next. We had no interest in another fight first. The proposal Top Rank sent was for a fight first and there’s no reason we can’t do our own fight if we’re not fighting Fury next.

Everything that we heard from Tyson Fury was that he wanted to fight Deontay next and we were willing to do that. Fury wasn’t.”

Finkel said Wilder’s next fight will be figured out in the coming days.

“He will fight in May and we will announce it shortly,” he said. “May 18 is our preference. We will know Friday or Monday and then we will announce his next plan.”

By Norm Frauenheim-

Tyson Fury’s surprising deal with ESPN and Bob Arum’s Top Rank as co-promoter is generating further talk about a division that not long ago was dormant.

Dormant, as in dead.

It’s hard to judge whether it’s just more noise for all of those social-media mega-phones or a true buzz that foretells a heavyweight revival. The hope here is a revival. There probably will never be another era quite like Ali, Frazier and Foreman. Still, there’s nothing quite like the dynamic elements of a good heavyweight fight. Proof of that was in the drama generated in the Fury-Deontay Wilder draw on Dec. 1.

On the skillset scale, Fury and Wilder will never be ranked among the heavyweight legends. Yet, Fury and Wilder reminded us that heavyweight power separates the division from the rest of the weight classes. Explosive drama is always there, lurking in every punch. Wilder landed a couple of them. Fury got up from both of them. It was dangerous. It was beautiful. It was classic, if only for the way it summed up why the division has always been a sport unto itself. To wit: There are the heavyweights and everybody else.

It’s hard to know whether Fury’s new deal will lead to the immediate Wilder rematch that seemed so inevitable just a week ago. Then, May 18 was projected. Maybe, that date gets pushed to later this year.

In large part, there’s timing. The announcement last week that the UK’s Anthony Joshua’s American debut against Jarrell Miller will happen on June 1 at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Two of the biggest heavyweight fights in years within a couple weeks of each other might be hard to market and harder to sell, especially on pay-per-view. Also, a lot of attention and pay-per-view dollars will be spent on the middleweight fight between Canelo Alvarez and Danny Jacobs on May 4.

May is crowded. A date in October or November or December might be a better time for the Fury-Wilder sequel. The public appetite will still be there, buoyed in part by what happens in Joshua-Miller. The ongoing buzz in the wake of the Fury deal with ESPN and Top Rank is a sign of a reawakening in interest in what was once known as the flagship division.

That flagship disappeared like the Navy’s old class of battleships. But it’s lore and legends are still afloat in the public imagination. You can hear it. An intriguing element is what a healthy heavyweight division can do for the rest of the business.

There was a time when many thought boxing was only as good as the heavyweights. Subsequently, that was disproved by Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. But it’s fair to argue that the sport sank to the so-called fringes during the post-Mike Tyson days. Suddenly, however, networks and streaming services increasingly want boxing.

They need bouts, which means they need boxers. For now, the business remains paralyzed by the Byzantine patchwork of rival promoters. Their reluctance to do business with each other continues to keep some of the best fights from happening.

But that’s not sustainable. At some point, Top Rank’s Terence Crawford and PBC’s Errol Spence Jr. will run the table on the available number of boxers within their respective promotional stables. The fans will demand they fight. Crawford and Spence might demand it too. The guess here, however, is that the networks will make it happen.

Fury’s deal opens the door for that to happen. Arum says he has reached out to Wilder with what he calls a “terrific” deal for the rematch. Wilder, like Spence, is a star under the PBC umbrella. If a deal for Fury-Wilder can be made, other dominoes could fall. There’s the aforementioned Spence-Crawford. If Mikey Garcia goes back to lightweight or junior-welter after his risky jump to 147 pounds against Spence on March 16, maybe we the long-talked-about Garcia-Vasiliy Lomachenko fight can happen.

It all starts with some renewed talking, and we’ve heard a lot of that this week.

In the wake of signing Tyson Fury, Bob Arum and Top Rank sent an offer to WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to join the ESPN platforms, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“We want to speak to Wilder together with his manager and his adviser and we want to do this fight where it belongs, on a big platform, which is ESPN pay-per-view. Wilder himself said (in media interviews) there is no contractual impediment that would prevent it. None. He is not signed in any manner, shape or form to any network. We have been informed that it is not the case (that Showtime has an option on the rematch). Ultimately, that may not be the case but I really believe from what we learned that Wilder is telling the truth and he is not bound to any network for any fight.

“We’re going to reach out and say contact us, please, and bring whomever you want to a meeting, your manager Finkel, your adviser Haymon, your trainer (Jay Deas, also a co-manager). Bring any and all of them to a meeting with us and let’s sit down and put this together.”

“I’m not going to get into specifics about Showtime’s contractual rights and entitlements but I will say we are very confident and very comfortable with our position with Deontay,” Showtime’s Stephen Espinoza told ESPN. “We’ve worked with Deontay and supported Deontay for many, many years and many, many fights and we fully expect for that to continue for the foreseeable future.”

“The idea that we wouldn’t do business with Finkel or Haymon is absurd,” Arum said. “We want to do this fight and we want to do it sensibly and correctly. We’re ready to put up all the money to do the fight. If it can’t happen it can’t happen, but it’s Wilder’s choice subject to advice from his manager and adviser. The one thing we want to make clear is there is no impediment to doing business with Wilder no matter who his manager is, no matter who his adviser is. We’re happy to deal with them. Wilder is going to have to decide what he wants to do in consultation with Finkel and Haymon.”

“ESPN+ will pay significant money for them to fight other fighters and then to do the rematch on pay-per-view in the fall,” Arum said. “That is all open for discussion. It’s certainly not a deal breaker if they want to do the rematch next. Fury is happy either way. He is happy with the tremendous money he will earn for a fight on ESPN+ and I think Wilder will be equally happy with doing a fight on ESPN+ for the money I know we can offer. Wilder has to make that decision. We’re not talking about peanuts. We’re talking about Wilder probably making more against somebody else (in the interim bout) than he made when he fought Fury and then making even more in the rematch in the fall.”

“The amount Wilder would earn for a fight on ESPN+ before a rematch would be far in excess of $4 million,” Arum said.

Arum said the reason for putting potential interim bouts on ESPN+ rather than the linear television network is because part of Top Rank’s long-term deal with ESPN is to assist in “building up the app because it’s something that ESPN is really behind and that’s how we would do it. If they each fought on ESPN+ there would be tremendous programming on ESPN leading up to the ESPN+ shows featuring their fights.”

“ESPN will give him a great platform. Everybody will know him,” Arum said. “He will be the heavyweight most familiar to the public. If Wilder joins us and becomes part of this he will give Fury a run for his money in terms popularity. As a personality, Tyson Fury reminds me of George Foreman — everything but the punching power.”

“Fury is going to be one of the iconic figures in sports because he’ll be so amusing and so much fun that people will tune in to hear him sound off,” Arum said. “He has an unusual personality and he is very fan friendly and will attract huge audiences like George did.”

“That’s the old Tyson Fury,” Arum said. “The new Tyson Fury is fan friendly. He is the George Foreman of the Foreman comeback. He’s not going to demean anyone or say anything about gays or lesbians. He is just an amusing fun character. What he did before, that’s behind him. He had mental problems before. He’s come out of that and become a mensch.”

– Multi-year agreement will see US broadcaster ESPN become Exclusive US broadcaster of Lineal Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury.

– UK and ROI Fight fans can tune in to see Fury’s fights exclusively Live on BT Sport and BT Sport Box Office.

– Deal further cements ESPN as the place to see Queensberry Promotions events in the US.

– Deal sees Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Top Rank partner to promote Tyson Fury’s fights in the USA.

Tyson Fury today joined hall of fame promoter Frank Warren at a press conference at BT Sport Studios, London to confirm his new stateside multi-fight agreement with ESPN.

Fury said: “ESPN are the biggest sporting network in the world, combined with BT Sport, so I’ll have dual viewers from America and the UK.

It gives me the opportunity to fight on the biggest broadcasting network in the world, be shown to the most people and be in a position to make the biggest and best fights possible and not be an opponent – they have to come to the Tyson Fury show now.”

At the London press conference, Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren, who alongside BT Sport, ESPN, Bob Arum, Top Rank and MTK Global, put the deal together, said: “Tyson Fury and Queensberry have signed a long term deal with ESPN and Top Rank. They will be Tyson’s exclusive broadcaster in the States.

This is going to be something special for Tyson, it gives him the chance to be the one that everyone wants to fight, and he will not have to do like he did and go to Germany to fight Klitschko; or fight Wilder on Showtime on their terms, we now have the biggest platform for him to be on.’

Top Rank chief Bob Arum earlier said of the deal: “Top Rank is very excited to enter into the promotional arrangement along with Queensberry Promotions for the lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury.

“He is a generational heavyweight talent at the peak of his powers. We also look forward to our increasing relationship with MTK Global, which represents so many world-class fighters,”

Sandra Vaughan, CEO of Fury’s management team MTK Global said: “MTK Global are thrilled to have played a role in what can only be described as a monumental partnership, no doubt the biggest one in the boxing industry.”

The deal will see Tyson Fury feature regularly in the US, live on BT Sport in the UK and ESPN in the US.

Media can download free to use photos from today’s press conference on this link

(Feb. 18, 2019) — Tyson Fury, one of the world’s most dynamic and popular heavyweight boxers, and Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren are joining forces with Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank. The agreement will mean that Fury will be a headline part of the boxing lineup under the historic, long-term Top Rank on ESPN relationship.

Fury, the undefeated lineal heavyweight champion, will have his bouts co-promoted by Top Rank and Queensberry Promotions. The deal calls for a minimum of two bouts per year in the United States.

Since announcing the landmark Top Rank on ESPN agreement in 2017, and expanding it in August 2018, the comprehensive alliance has showcased blockbuster Top Rank fights and content across ESPN networks and ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer streaming service in the U.S.

All the parties will work closely to set and announce the details of Fury’s debut soon.

BT Sport will continue to be the television home in the United Kingdom for all of Fury’s fights.

Top Rank, Fury’s management team MTK Global and Queensberry Promotions, worked seamlessly to close the groundbreaking deal.

“Top Rank is very excited to enter into the promotional arrangement along with Queensberry Promotions for the lineal heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury,” Arum said. “He is a generational heavyweight talent at the peak of his powers. We also look forward to our growing relationship with MTK Global, which represents so many world-class fighters.”

‘I’m delighted that Frank and Queensberry Promotions have teamed up with Top Rank to promote my fights in America,” Fury said. “With ESPN and BT Sport behind me, the biggest sports platforms in the world are now linked up with the best heavyweight in the world!”

“This is a great move for Tyson Fury and a great move for Queensberry Promotions,” Warren said. “By partnering up with ESPN and Top Rank in America, we’re giving our boxers, including Tyson, the opportunity to perform on the biggest and most powerful platforms on both sides of the Atlantic and become truly global stars.”

“MTK Global are thrilled to have played a role in what can only be described as a monumental partnership, no doubt the biggest one in the boxing industry, and we’re looking forward to working more closely with the teams at Top Rank and ESPN well into the future,” said Sandra Vauaghan, CEO MTK Global.

Fury (27-0-1, 19 KOs) won the lineal heavyweight title in November 2015 with a unanimous decision over Wladimir Klitschko, who at the time had made 18 title defenses during a nearly decade-long reign. While never losing inside the ring, Fury relinquished the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts while dealing with well-documented mental health and substance abuse issues. After more than two-and-a-half years away from the ring, Fury, whose weight had ballooned to more than 400 pounds, returned in June of last year.

A pair of wins over Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta set the stage for one of the most dramatic heavyweight title matches in boxing history. Against WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder on Dec. 1 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Fury put forth a boxing masterclass and survived a hellacious 12th-round knockdown to, seemingly, do enough to defeat Wilder. The judges, however, ruled the bout a split draw. Fury, still just 30, retained his status as lineal champion and realized an against-all-odds comeback story.

To subscribe to ESPN+, visit www.espnplus.com

About Top Rank
Innovation has been the standard at Top Rank since it was established in 1966 by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. The boxing industry’s leading promotional company, Top Rank has shaped, developed, and promoted the careers of top international pay-per-view superstars and Hall of Famers, including Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Terence Crawford, and Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Top Rank has promoted some of the most memorable fights in the sport’s history, including 26 Ali events, Leonard vs. Hearns, Pryor vs. Arguello, Duran vs. Leonard, Hagler vs. Hearns, Leonard vs. Hagler, Foreman vs. Holyfield, Morales vs. Barrera, De La Hoya vs. Trinidad, and the most lucrative fight in boxing history, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. In addition to the previously mentioned super fights, Top Rank possesses one of the largest sports libraries, which includes nearly 10,000 fights.

Known for creating strategic collaborations between athletes, sponsors, and television networks, Top Rank has been an architect of boxing’s global growth by staging high-profile events in landmark settings around the world, including Madison Square Garden, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Staples Center, Wembley Arena, Araneta Coliseum, The Venetian Macao, Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, The “Fabulous” Forum, and AT&T Stadium. Top Rank has also been the leader within the boxing industry in creating unforgettable in-arena experiences for fans and embracing 21st century technological advancements to distribute world-class fights and shoulder programming across a variety of platforms.

About Queensberry Promotions
Queensberry Promotions is the promotional vehicle of Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren.

Frank Warren has promoted some of the sport of boxing’s biggest names in his 35+ year career including the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton; as well as current stars Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton.

Some of the events promoted by Frank Warren during his illustrious career include: Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium, David Haye v Dereck Chisora at Upton Park, Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu at Manchester Arena, Prince Naseem Hamed v Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden and Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.

Queensberry Promotions has a long-term exclusive deal in the UK to promote boxing events on BT Sport, the sport broadcast platform of telecoms giant BT.

About MTK Global
MTK Global is the world’s foremost fighter management company. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it was founded in September 2012 by two-time European boxing champion, Matthew Macklin.

MTK Global delivers a wide range of support and services including career development, legal, media, endorsements and sponsorships to more than a hundred professional fighters. It provides boxing shows, events and training gyms in various locations worldwide: Marbella, Spain, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, United Kingdom, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sta. Catarina, Brasil and Sydney, Australia.

For general enquiries, email us at: hello@mtkglobal.com

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHLgames, exclusive UFC and Top Rank boxing events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.

About ESPN
ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment enterprise features more than 50 assets – eight U.S. television networks, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN International, ESPN The Magazine and more. ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst.

The purse bid for the WBC Heavyweight title rematch between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has been postponed again, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Things have gotten delayed a little, but as far as I know there are no issues,” Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, told ESPN on Tuesday. “I would hope the fight is completed late this week or early next week.”

“I have been in direct communication with both parties and they have indicated that they are in goodwill negotiations, very close to reaching an agreement,” Said WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN. “I will monitor this matter personally and if needed will intervene within the next week.”

A purse bid for the rematch between Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury has been pushed back a week, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“We have extended [for] one week the free negotiations, per their request,” WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman said.

Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s co-manager, said the discussions are going well.

“We’re in strong negotiations and hopefully we will get things done,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to need a purse bid.”

The WBC has ordered an immediate rematch between Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“Consistent with the WBC board of governors voting regarding the direct rematch between WBC champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury, the WBC is hereby notifying both camps that the free negotiation period is opened,” the WBC, which sanctions the title belt that Wilder holds, said in a statement.

Shelly Finkel, one of Wilder’s managers, told ESPN on Wednesday that their side is ready to make a deal.

“We’ve been talking about it but now things will get serious,” Finkel said.

He said he had no issue with Fury getting 40 percent if the fight goes to a purse bid because “he deserves it.”

Finkel said he hopes that the fight will take place “sometime in late May. I could be June but I would hope May.”

A rematch would likely take place in the United States. Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, told ESPN late last week that they remain interested in the rematch and acknowledged that it would likely be in the U.S. after at first talking about the prospect of the fight being in the United Kingdom.

“We’re trying to make that fight at the moment, everyone wants the fight and most importantly the fighters want it,” Warren said. “The venue is looking like the U.S. That’s where the money is. … Tyson is already in the gym working hard, ticking over, and I think we would get it (the fight) before June.”

By Norm Frauenheim-

It was preceded by great expectations. But it began amid disappointment, delay and controversy. Another year ends and new one is about to begin amid all of usual suspects.

Still, 2018 was a little bit different perhaps because of the way it ended in a spontaneous display of emotion in one fight that exceeded expectations.

In early December, Tyson Fury got up from a crushing Deontay Wilder combination in a moment that reminded us that boxing never ceases to surprise. It is nothing if not resilient. It is always re-creating itself.

Not long after Fury somehow regained consciousness and somehow was able to stand upright late in a 10-count that began like last rites, he stood, resurrected, in front of the assembled media in a work room at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

He held his long arms above his head like an old-time preacher and asked:

“Did we entertain you?’’

There was no argument about the answer, unlike the deafening controversy over the judges’ scores in a split draw.

The fight was a hit on every level other than the scorecards. Yet, even the debate was reason to celebrate. A rematch is in those cards. For 2019, more of Wilder-Fury can only be a good thing. Wilder-Fury I was reason to forget everything that didn’t happen in 2018. It also happened in the very division that has been written off for at least a decade.

The heavyweights are a relic of what they were. On Dec. 1, however, Wilder-Fury reminded us how much fun they can be. Nobody will confuse Wilder or Fury with Evander Holyfield or Lennox Lewis or any of the other legends who were in the Staples crowd.

But Wilder’s instinctive power lands like a force of nature. Add Fury’s stubborn will and clever skill, and you had a dynamic mix, the kind that creates great moments. Their performance was Fight of the Year here and, I suspect, on nearly every other ballot, too.

In terms of tone, Wilder and Fury left the boxing audience wanting more at exactly the time when there was lingering frustration over Canelo Alvarez’ PED suspension, the subsequent delay of a second fight, contentious negotiations and then a September rematch without a knockdown and just more controversy over Canelo’s narrow victory on the scorecards.

There were other moments, names and reasons to remember.

A few samples:

Aleksandr Usyk looked like Fighter of the Year, putting himself into the pound-for-pound discussion with cruiserweight victories that should make Fury, Wilder and Anthony Joshua nervous.

At the top of the pound-for-pound debate on this ballot, it’s still welterweight Terence Crawford at No. 1, Vasiliy Lomachenko at No. 2 and Mikey Garcia at No. 3. All three have good arguments for the top spot. They are redefining the sport — moving it beyond the careful, risk-to-reward ratio that ruled Floyd Mayweather’s Jr.’s rich career.

Crawford is a finisher. Lomachenko’s many punches from many angles are unprecedented. Garcia, a natural lightweight and junior-welterweight, is taking a risk, a massive one against welterweight power-puncher Errol Spence Jr. in March.

Throughout 2018, they did what Mayweather didn’t in a year that ended with Fury and Wilder, who reminded us that anything is possible.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the December 1st Deontay Wilder – Tyson Fury fight generated 325,000 Pay-Per-View buys.

Based on 325,000 buys, the pay-per-view grossed around $24 million, though about half that money goes to the cable and satellite providers.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the WBC has voted for an immediate rematch between heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury.

“Wilder and Fury gave boxing one of the best fights in the heavyweight division in a long time, which has created tremendous popular demand from fans to see a rematch,” Mauricio Sulaiman said. “The WBC is happy to confirm that a direct rematch has been approved and will create in a ruling, which will also consider the mandatory status of the division.

“I wish to once again congratulate Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury for their great battle inside the ring and for the exemplary sportsmanship after the bout.”

“I’m willing and ready to give Fury the opportunity ASAP. It’s only right to give Fury a rematch as soon as possible,” Wilder said. “I’m ready whenever he’s ready to do it. I’m ready to give the fans what they want to see and end this talk once and for all [about who won].”

By Norm Frauenheim

It’s been called a heavyweight resurrection and maybe that’s what it was when Tyson Fury climbed to his feet while Jack Reiss was about to complete the count in delivering last rites to an astonishing comeback in the fight of his life and for his life.

It was as compelling a moment as any. It defined the reason why people watch and why boxing always defies the doom so often predicted. Better writers have called it life in a shot glass and that’s what we witnessed last Saturday in Fury’s controversial draw with Deontay Wilder last Saturday at Los Angeles’ Staples Center. Within a few seconds, it unfolded with undiluted power. One-hundred-and-eighty proof drama.

But did it really mark a heavyweight revival?

Only if there is an immediate rematch.

Business is often about momentum and the heavyweight division captured a lot of it with a fight that was a hard sell. Tickets, hands full of them, were available from scalpers and at the Staples box office hours before opening bell. Showtime’s pay-per-view telecast was tracking this week to do between 300,000 and 400,000. Decent, but not great.

If you missed it live, you can watch the replay on Showtime Saturday night (9 pm ET). Guess here: A big audience will watch. The replay, itself, will serve as a good platform to market a rematch that has emerged as a lot more attractive that Anthony Joshua against either Wilder or Fury.

That’s what Wilder said in a conference call Tuesday, just days after he and Fury defied expectations. Forget Joshua, Wilder said, who in effect told Joshua to go pound nails, or Dillian Whyte.

“Let him continue to fight second-tier fighters,’’ Wilder said. “Maybe one of them knocks him out.’’

The drama and controversy generated by Wilder-Fury stole the bully pulpit right out from under Joshua, who reportedly had ducked a $50-million offer to fight Wilder.

Joshua had all of the momentum in his corner after his victory over Wladimir Klitschko in an April 2017 bout. That fight, too, was dubbed a heavyweight revival. But the revival and momentum were squandered, in part because there was not motivation for Joshua to risk his UK popularity. He had been drawing huge, soccer-like crowds in the UK. Why jeopardize the box office with a risky fight? But who remembers, or even cares, about his subsequent victories over Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam?

Now, however, Fury returns to the UK riding a huge wave of popularity. There are reports in UK media that Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn want to resume negotiations with Wilder for his next fight. But wouldn’t a Wilder-Joshua fight instead of an immediate Fury-Wilder rematch further enrage fans who already think Fury got robbed on Saturday’s scorecards?

The split draw had a lot of people alleging fix and screaming for an investigation. From ringside, I scored it a draw. From round to round, it was close, hard to judge. I scored the first, fourth, fifth and seventh rounds for Fury. I scored the second and fifth for Wilder. I scored the second and eighth even. In each round, there was not much that separated the two. There was Fury’s jab and Wilder’s erratic power, both of which were exerted in the late seconds in an evident to attempt to steal rounds.

On this card, it was 4-2-2 for Fury after eight. In the ninth, Wilder scored a knockdown. Fury won the 10th and 11th. In the 12th, there was the knockdown and Fury’s come-back-to-life moment. It was astonishing and emotional. On this scorecard, however, it was still a draw.

The dramatic moment, I suspect, influenced many to argue that Fury should have won. A further factor was his personal triumph from drinking, drugging and dark thoughts that included suicide. He reportedly weighed 400 pounds a year ago.

He sang at the post-fight news conference and asked reporters to sing with him. Bye, Bye Miss American Pie, Drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry filled the Staples Center press room with voices from reporters who joined the Fury choir. It was unprecedented. It was hard not to be won over. I wish he had won. But my scorecard said something else.

It was a draw. But it was a performance that should ensure Fury and Wilder a rich rematch. Only then can anybody call it a true heavyweight revival.

Tommy Fury explains how his brother and his ‘favourite fighter’ Tyson Fury has given him the motivation he needs as the light-heavyweight counts down the days to his eagerly anticipated professional debut on December 22nd on the undercard of Josh Warrington’s IBF World Featherweight Title defence against Carl Frampton.

“Words can’t describe how much of a motivation he is to me.” said a very proud Tommy Fury after watching his older brother Tyson fight to a controversial split decision draw with Deontay Wilder.

He continued: “I thought the result was ludicrous. I still can’t get to grips with it and how any judge and any single person watching that fight couldn’t give it to Tyson.

“Even with the two knockdowns, he was still miles ahead and a lot of big names in the sport have come out and said they had Tyson winning.”

Tommy was unable to join Tyson and Team Fury in Los Angeles as he continues his preparations for his upcoming fight at the Manchester Arena on December 22nd.

But despite being thousands of miles away across the Atlantic, Tyson has still been able to inspire his younger sibling as he edges ever-closer to embarking on his professional journey.

“Just watching him throughout the whole build up, all his training, the all access programmes on Showtime and BT Sport, words can’t describe how much of a motivation he is to me.

“He’s my favourite fighter and in my opinion the best heavyweight there has ever been and he’s my brother, so much of my motivation comes from him.

“If he can conquer all what he has done, then I can conquer anything and it’s the same to everybody out there, whatever you want to achieve in life you can achieve it. My motivation is sky high and I couldn’t any prouder than my brother.”

Tommy Fury will make his professional debut on the huge December 22nd Manchester Arena show headlined by IBF world featherweight champion Josh Warrington taking on former two-weight world champion Carl Frampton

Tickets are priced at £50 Upper Tier, £80 Tier, £100 Tier, £150 Tier, £200 Floor/Tier, £300 Floor, £400 Floor, £600 Inner Ring VIP Hospitality and are available.

Tickets available via Manchester Arena