Tyson Fury could still defend his world heavyweight title this summer at Wembley Stadium, if his promoters can find a suitable opponent.
Fury had been keen to squeeze in a fight with Joe Joyce this year after his undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk broke down at the last minute, but his fellow Brit lost to Zhilei Zhang on Saturday night to scupper those plans. Now, promoter Frank Warren is attempting to put together a bout for the summer in what would be a third consecutive British bout for the champion.
Zhang could end up being the opponent, although that could also be hurt by Joyce's rematch clause that could see him forced to take on the Brit again. Olympic silver medalist Zhang is now the WBO interim champion, and would be a legitimate title contender if Joyce opts to not go for the rematch.
"Joe's got that rematch clause," Warren explained. "And if he takes it, it's obviously going to be a complication with anything to discuss alternative fights for him right now. And at the end of the day, Tyson's the boss when it comes down to what he wants to do.
"If he wants to fight this summer, he'll let us know, we'll try to make it happen. We need to know pretty quickly to invoke something in the during the summer. Especially if we're going to try and do something in a stadium in the UK, which is where he would need to fight to try and make it work here. But yeah, opponents, choices, that will all come down to a conversation with Tyson."
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Joyce was a heavy favourite against Zhang, but an eye injury forced the doctor to stop their bout in the sixth round on Saturday night at the Copper Box Arena. He hadn't lost as a professional, but is known for his ability to take a lot of punishment before turning the fight around in the later rounds which ultimately cost him on the weekend.
Fury hasn't fought since December 3 when he faced Derek Chisora in an outlandish trilogy fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He comfortably stopped Chisora within ten rounds in a bout that should never have been staged and immediately entered into talks with Usyk for a undisputed bout.
However, despite Usyk agreeing to a series of over-the-top demands from his rival, Fury's team were unable to make the bout happened for the planned April date. Instead, it now seems that Usyk will be forced to face Daniel Dubois in his next mandatory defence while Fury could face Zhang or another top contender.
