Tyson Fury is reportedly in talks to fight Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean as his next opponent.
The Gypsy King was last in action against Derek Chisora in December, securing a 10th-round TKO victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Fury has had plenty of back-and-forths with Oleksandr Usyk over a possible unification fight but looks to be heading in a different direction as he searches for his next bout.
The 34-year-old has travelled to Australia with Joseph Parker for his training partner's fight with Faiga Opelu. However, Fury could soon be returning to Australia after it was reported that the WBC champion is in talks to fight Demsey McKean.
Here’s all you need to know about the undefeated southpaw:
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Who is Demsey McKean?
The 32-year-old from Queensland has 14 stoppage wins in his 22-0 record but began his combat sports career after watching a UFC event as a teenager. McKean started out competing in MMA, making his professional debut as a 19-year-old and gaining a 2-1 record by the end of 2010.
The southpaw made his boxing bow in 2014 and two years later he defeated UFC contender Tai Tuivasa in the final of an eight-man tournament for the Frank Bianco Cup.
McKean won the Australian national heavyweight title in 2017 with a TKO victory over Willie Nasio after becoming interim champ earlier that year. However, he was then sidelined for 12 months after sustaining a ligament injury to his left knuckle.
In 2019 he entered the WBO rankings after stopping Patrick Eneanya in the sixth round, despite being hospitalised on the day of the fight. Plans to fight former title contender Lucas Browne fell through but McKean did win both the WBO Asia Pacific and IBF Intercontinental titles after his TKO over Jonathan Rice, with two seconds remaining in the final round.
The 32-year-old has called out Joseph Parker on more than one occasion, has sparred with Anthony Joshua and fought in London last year on the undercard of Lawrence Okolie vs Michal Cieslak.
In January, it was suggested that McKean was being considered as a possible opponent for AJ’s comeback fight but the Australian’s team has since confirmed that they are in discussions with Fury’s camp.
What’s been said?
McKean’s manager has revealed that they have been in talks over a fight with Fury in August. The Gypsy King shared a reference to the news on Instagram and said in an interview that he was open to fighting in Australia.
"I'm definitely keen, it may even be my next fight over here,” Fury admitted. “I just haven't got an opponent yet, so we're going to figure it out.”
In an interview with the Herald Sun, McKean’s promoter Angelo Di Carlo said: “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 and we have great respect for 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 6" 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."
He added: "For Demsey to get the chance to jump in the ring with Tyson Fury, it would be the biggest fight in Australian history and bigger than Jeff Horn vs Manny Pacquiao. 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.”
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