Tyson Fury is in talks with unbeaten heavyweight Demsey McKean over a fight Down Under, according to the Australian’s manager.
WBC champion Fury was expected to fight Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the unified titles, in a seismic bout in April, but negotiations collapsed in March. As a result, Usyk is expected to defend his belts against mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois this summer, while Fury’s next move is unclear.
The unbeaten Briton, 34, is in Melbourne this week to support teammate Joseph Parker, who is fighting Faiga Opelu on Wednesday (24 May), and Fury may follow in the New Zealander’s footsteps later this year.
That’s according to Angelo Di Carlo, manager of McKean, who told Australian media on Monday (22 May): “Chats began some time ago for Demsey to fight Tyson Fury in Australia, and I think Demsey is the best option for the ‘Gypsy King’.
“We’re certainly keen to do the fight. We’ve had a good association with Matchroom [McKean’s promoters], and we have great respect for [Matchroom chief] Eddie Hearn, but I’ll have more talks with Fury’s camp and see where that takes us.
“If Tyson Fury wants to fight in Australia, the logical option is to fight an Aussie fighter, and talking to Fury’s people, they don’t want to fight a small heavyweight. Demsey and Justis [Huni] are Australia’s best heavyweights, but Demsey is 6ft 6in and – being a southpaw – he would present a real test for Tyson.
“We’ve been given a possible date to fight Fury in August, so hopefully we can make it happen [...] Demsey has said, ‘Let’s make this fight happen.’ For Demsey to get the chance to jump in the ring with Tyson Fury, it would be the biggest fight in Australian history [...] This would be a dream come true, all the greatest heavyweights are chasing Fury; Anthony Joshua, Usyk, Andy Ruiz, Deontay Wilder – they all would love a piece of Fury.
“Demsey is unbeaten and he is awkward enough to give any heavyweight problems. Being a southpaw makes him tricky to fight, and he has the youth and hunger to be competitive against Fury. Tyson cannot underestimate Demsey, because he has the size and power to pull off an upset.”
McKean, 32, has a professional record of 22-0 (14 knockouts) and was linked with Anthony Joshua earlier this year.
The Briton, however, went on to fight Jermaine Franklin instead. Joshua outpointed the American in London in April.
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