By Jake Donovan
As if it didn't take long enough to land a fight date for the rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, the heavyweight championship bout hits yet another bump in the road.
The sequel - due to take place July 9 in Manchester, England - has been officially postponed after Fury revealed through social media on Friday that he will need time to heal a sprained ankle injury sustained during training camp.
“About 10 days ago I was running up in the lake district and I went over on my ankle, sprained my ankle,” Fury said on Friday in a video posted to his Instagram account. “I’ve been to the hospital, had MRIs, X-rays, scans and all that stuff. They said it’s not broken but it’s badly sprained, keep off it for 6-7 weeks.
“I tried to still train a bit, had a second opinion, got the same advice. So the fight is postponed. … As soon as my ankle gets better, we will reschedule.”
Fury's team seemed confident a new date will be revealed in the near future, but there hasn't been anything easy about making this fight or even their first encounter.
Still, they remain optimistic of greater progress than has been the case thus far.
"It’s very unfortunate at this crucial stage of Tyson’s preparations that this injury has occurred with just a couple of weeks to go," noted promoter Mick Hennessy. “There was no way Tyson could go into the fight against Wladimir Klitschko less than 100 percent fit.
“It’s essential now that Tyson gets the correct medical professional treatment for the injury and then we can then look to announce the new date. I feel for the fans who have purchased tickets and for the BoxNation viewers who were looking forward to this summer blockbuster, but we will put all our efforts into making sure Tyson fully recovers and then get the rematch back on.”
The rematch took several months to finalize due to having to line up the venue with an available date on U.S. cable giant HBO, Germany's RTL and - for this leg - BoxNation in the United Kingdom. Chances are, the heavyweights will only have one fight each in 2016 - versus each other and with most of the year spent waiting on a fight date.
Fury lifted the World heavyweight championship in their first encounter, claiming a 12-round victory in Germany last November. Klitschko had held at least one belt since April '06, but was at his absolute worst as he offered next to nothing in the way of an offensive attack.
That bout too was delayed, in fact the entire manner in which it was formed mired in controversy. The bout was due to go to purse bid, only for a room full of promoters to be informed that a deal had been struck between K2 Promotions and Hennessy Sport. Terms were accepted by the WBA despite news coming well after deadline and minutes after the purse bid hearing had begun.
Included in the deal was a mandated rematch - which is supposed to be illegal in mandatory title fights but agreed to by Fury given the financial upside.
Their bout was due to take place last October, but was pushed back by more than a month after Klitschko suffered an injury after just his first day of having returned to training following the official press conference to formally announce the fight last September.
Fury enjoyed his newfound role as heavyweight King, although not exactly carrying himself like an ambassador of the sport. The brash Brit - a proud and outspoken member of the Traveller community - has managed to offend several camps in the past few months.
For the rematch, the unbeaten champ has been seen to be in less-than-stellar shape. Injuries occur even to those in peak condition, so one thing may not have anything to do with the other. Klitschko and his team have chosen yo take the high road while awaiting word of their shot at revenge.
"Of course, I am currently totally disappointed about the cancellation," Klitschko said in a statement through K2 Promotions press office. "As well as for my fans, I´m very sorry, they were all very excited for this rematch. But one thing is also clear: This just means I'll get my belt a few weeks later."
"It is unfortunate that the fight will not take place," said Bernd Bönte, Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group. "Wladimir is in great form. We are working hard on an alternative date and our desire is still to hold the fight at the Manchester Arena. Once we can say more, we will report it immediately. "
