Tyson Fury probably will fight one of two men on Dec. 5 in the U.K., according to his co-promoter Bob Arum.
Arum told BoxingScene.com that the heavyweight titleholder is likely to fight either contender Agit Kabayel or Carlos Takam, both of whom Arum also co-promotes.
“I’m not doing a bus boy,” said Arum, referring to prospective opponents for Fury. “Fury should beat Takam but Takam is at least known and he has been on ESPN. And he looked pretty good in the last fight.
“The other guy (Kabayel) is undefeated and he has fought some fairly decent guys. I haven’t come up with anybody else.”
Arum told the website that it’s clear whether ESPN will televise the event in the U.S.
“He’s deciding on an opponent,” Arum said. “I don’t know given the football schedule if we can do it on ESPN. But until I get an opponent I’m not going to ESPN [to discuss it].”
Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) is coming off a seventh-round knockout of Deontay Wilder in their rematch to win a heavyweight belt on Feb. 22.
Wilder exercised a rematch provision in their contract and a third fight between them was set for July. The fight was pushed back to October because of the coronavirus pandemic and surgery on Wilder’s biceps.
It was then pushed back to December. However, it became clear that the inability to reach a final deal and reported conflicts with college football on ESPN would cause another delay.
At that point, Fury said enough is enough and decided to move on, saying the rematch clause has expired. His plan is to fight countryman Anthony Joshua for all the heavyweight titles if he wins on Dec. 5 and Joshua gets past Kubrat Pulev on Dec. 12.
Kabayel (20-0, 13 KOs) is a 28-year-old former kickboxer from Germany who is ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies. He won the vacant European heavyweight title by outpointed Herve Hubeaux in 2017 and successfully defended three times, including a majority decision over longtime contender Derek Chisora.
Kabayel is 6-foot-3 (190.5 cm) and weighed 236¾ for his last fight. Fury is 6-9 and weighed 273 in his rematch with Wilder.
Takam (39-5-1, 28 KOs) is a 39-year-old Frenchman who has been a fringe contender. He has lost most of his biggest fight, including back-to-back knockouts against Joshua and Chisora in 2017 and 2018. He has won three in a row since the Chisora setback.
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