The never-ending roller coaster that is Tyson Fury's potential return to the ring, or lack thereof, has reached a new chapter.
The British Boxing Board of Control has told Fury to start booking a date so that he and his representatives can meet with the U.K. Anti-Doping Agency and work out a possible date for a return to the ring.
Fury tweeted out the announcement, thanking the BBBofC for allowing him to resume boxing in 2018.
If Fury's words are to be taken literally, then unfortunately, he is incorrect in his statement. The BBBofC has yet to reinstate him and Fury is still without a boxing license. BBBofC chairman Robert Smith told SkySports that there are still some steps before Fury could think about a return to the ring.
"It's quite simple, Fury's legal team need to agree a date. At the present time, as I am standing here now, it hasn't been agreed. We are ready to go. UKAD do all our anti-doping for us, they have an independent panel that is dealing with the case and we are trying to get a date finalised. But we are unable to do so because they [Fury's legal team] haven't confirmed one," Smith said.
Fury has been adamant about his desire to fight current unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who recently retained his belts against Carlos Takam. Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn have hinted at a possible fight against Fury if he can get his affairs in order.
Even if he were to resolve the issues he has had with the U.K. Anti-Doping Agency and BBBofC, one of the biggest issues regarding Fury's return to the ring is his physical health. In the past year or so, Fury has had weight issues and Smith said he would need to resolve those problems before going back to the ring.
"We want Tyson Fury to come back fit and healthy, in the right circumstances. At present time, he has a few things going on, so he needs those things resolved. Once they're resolved and he is a position to do so, we want to make sure he's healthy. There a lot of stories out there about his health, physically and mentally, but the most important thing is him. Boxing comes second. But if we are able to consider him boxing again, we want that to happen," Smith said.
Fury shocked the boxing world by defeating Wladimir Klitschko to win the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles in November 2015. The two were set to have a rematch in 2016, but injuries from both sides delayed the fight. The fight was officially off when Fury failed a U.K. Anti-Doping Agency drug test and reports surrounding his mental health forced Fury to be suspended and have his boxing license revoked. His titles were also stripped and Fury announced his retirement last year.
The 29-year-old Fury sparked rumors of a comeback last year and was training for a return fight this past summer, despite him still being suspended. Fury would retire a second time earlier this year, but according to sources close to Fury, they never expected to Fury to stay retired. Fury recently demanded to know why his drug case was taking so long to resolve.
In the past months, he has mainly been helping train his cousin Hughie Fury, who recently lost to Joseph Parker in a WBO world heavyweight title fight.
