By Terence Dooley
BoxingScene.com can confirm that Tyson Fury has signed a promotional deal with Frank Warren and will appear on Warren's February 15th bill at London's Copper Box Arena. Fury, 21-0 (15), shares a place on the bill with former foe Dereck Chisora, 19-4 (13) — he beat "Del Boy" on points in 2011 to net the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles — and the two are likely to be guided towards a possible summer rematch.
Warren has confirmed the deal and stated that it will be a "long-term promotional deal". Mick Hennessy of Hennessy Sports will also continue to be involved in Fury's career.
“I’m delighted that Tyson and Mick are working with us and he’ll have his first fight on the Copper Box Arena show on Saturday 15th February," Warren said in a statement. "The plan is for both of them to come through their fights on the night and then the pair will meet in a massive rematch in June. Because it’s the biggest fight out there for them and it’s a fight that the public want to see the only place for it to happen would be a football stadium, a real summer extravaganza between the big men of British boxing before the World Cup.
"Tyson beat Dereck a few years ago and since then both of them have come on. Tyson has done fantastic, winning both here and abroad, and has marked himself as one of the world’s most exciting heavyweights.
"Dereck’s performances have been spot on recently, his weight is right and so his attitude and focus and he’s a real handful for any heavyweight out there. I’m already excited by it, Chisora versus Fury is the biggest fight out there and it could certainly be a world title eliminator. But plans can be upset though. Chisora has a by no means easy fight against a hard and undefeated Ukrainian in Rudenko who’s knocked out 16 of 24 opponents.”
Fury had hoped to meet David Haye, but the former WBA heavyweight titlist and cruiserweight champion sustained injuries — a cut followed by surgery on a shoulder injury — that ruled him out of both of the mooted dates. Haye's misfortune left Fury, 25, dangling yet the news of his hook up with Warren will come as a welcome relief to the fighter and his fans.
Chisora, 30, meets the undefeated Ukrainian Andriy Rudenko, 24-0 (16), on the Copper Box show, a European title defence, and will hope to continue a winning run that has brought him WBO International and European title wins over Malik Scott, Edmund Gerber and Ondrej Pala (W TKO 6, 5 and 3 respectively). It means that Chisora has gone 4-0 since 2012's sixth-round TKO loss to Haye at Upton Park (he beat Hector Alfredo Avila by ninth-round TKO in April of last year to begin his road back to contention).
Warren also confirmed that Fury’s younger cousin, the all-action teenager Hughie, 12-0 (7), will also feature on the Copper Box Arena show.
“Joining Tyson on the card is his cousin Hughie who is a top prospect in his own right," Warren believes. "He’s certainly not hanging about as you can from his twelve fight in under year which shows that he’s focused and dedicated to the sport. I named him as one of my picks for this year and he’s an exciting hard-hitting talent who will thrill the fans with his performance.”
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