Tyson Fury returns to the ring on Saturday to face-off against old rival Derek Chisora in a bout where the talk strangely orientates around who is not there rather than the Gypsy King's actual opponent.

Having seen off Dillian Whyte in April, Fury set his sights on a 'Battle of Britain' clash against Anthony Joshua or a unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk, though was unable to secure an agreement with either.

Negotiations with Joshua fell flat and Usyk made it clear that he would not fight until 2023, leaving Fury in limbo and in a situation that reflects the messy scene at the top of the heavyweight division beneath the Ukrainian and the Gypsy King.

For all the clamour for a fight between Fury and Joshua, the latter struggled in consecutive losses to Usyk, with a previous defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 resulting in three losses in the past five bouts for AJ.

Deontay Wilder lost twice in succession to Fury, while Ruiz Jr has fallen since losing his rematch to Joshua, ultimately leaving Fury treading water and forced to wait for other up-and-coming heavyweights to boost their credentials.

Of those, Joe Joyce stands as the most likely to jump to the front of the queue to face Fury but the fight against Chisora presents a massive risk, not just to Fury himself but to the heavyweight division.

A loss, though unlikely, would leave the WBC heavyweight belt tied up for a rematch and fourth bout between Fury and Chisora, potentially pushing back a unification clash with Usyk or a fiercely anticipated meeting with Joshua even further.

Chisora is the big winner in these circumstances, as in reality a fighter with 12 career defeats, including three in a row before victory over Kubrat Pulev in July, would never usually be in contention for a belt of this magnitude.

While Chisora has shown his ability to take significant hits and damage, somehow going the distance in a loss to Joseph Parker in Manchester a year ago despite being knocked down on three occasions, few would give him much of a chance against Fury.

In the heavyweight division, however, it only takes one hit to end a contest and a knockout surely stands as Chisora's only route to victory – though his last came against Artur Szpilka in 2019.

In comparison, Fury has not had a fight go the distance since a unanimous decision triumph against Otto Wallin two years ago and will fancy his chances of another quick win.

Tyson Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum is confident an agreement for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk can be made "speedily" if the Gypsy King can see off Derek Chisora.

The WBC heavyweight championship will be on the line in Saturday's meeting at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the two Brits locking horns in a trilogy bout.

Few had this fight top of their wishlist, with fans instead keen for a unification bout against Usyk or a 'Battle of Britain' clash with Anthony Joshua.

However, a meeting with Usyk remains in the pipeline, Arum has said, though he has warned Chisora has the credentials to cause Fury problems.

"I don't see any reason why the Usyk fight with Tyson Fury can't be made speedily," he said.

"That fight will happen next unless Mr Chisora lands his punch. Don't discount Chisora. Chisora's a hell of a fighter. He has a tremendous punch.

"He gave Usyk life and death. You can't in this business count your chickens before they're hatched. Chisora will answer back. It's a great, great fight. It really has a lot of interest.

"Two big heavyweights getting in the ring trying to knock each other's head off. Nothing is more exciting."

Underdog Chisora is looking to make a statement with a knockout win against Fury and made it clear he will come out of the blocks flying with an aggressive approach in the opening rounds.

"On Saturday I'm going to go to war. There's no two ways about it. I want to take what's his and make it mine. Physically and mentally," he declared.

"I can guarantee you, you are going to love the whole show we are going to put up. It's not going to be stinker, it's going to be a great fight.

"We want to give you the best first round in the heavyweight game forever. We need the first round to be electric, so the place will be buzzing. "I'm prepared to do it. We shook on it."

Tyson Fury conceded a fight with Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua in 2023 appears unlikely after detailing his plans for next year's schedule.

WBC champion Fury will defend his title at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday against Derek Chisora, who has lost twice already against the 34-year-old.

Chisora comes in as somewhat of a replacement clash for Fury after the 'Gypsy King' repeatedly declared his desire to face Usyk or Joshua.

While the unbeaten Fury still seeks an undisputed heavyweight bout with Usyk or an all-British showdown with Joshua, he conceded both fights remain a pipe dream at present.

"Probably not, because they are all bums, we will see," Fury told Sky Sports when asked about the two potential clashes.

"I am not going to count my chickens at all, but we will find out next year what will happen.

"If you see me in Antarctica doing a fight, you know I am on my bum-a-month campaign."

Instead, Fury – perhaps somewhat in jest – claimed he intends to fight around the globe in 2023 as he prepares to discuss his plans with promoter Frank Warren.

"I think I would like to do 12 fights next year, do like a bum-a-month campaign all over the world," he added.

"I am going to sit down with Frank Warren after this fight and see what we can do, see if we can do a bum-a-month campaign and go to random places and fight someone.

"Go to India, go to China, go to Australia, go to Indonesia, go to Africa, just fight local people. You have a heavyweight guy there? Yeah, let's fight him.

"Have a chance to fight for the World Championship like Rocky did in Apollo."

Tyson Fury says it would be "an absolute dying travesty" if he does not fight Anthony Joshua before he hangs up his gloves for good.

The WBC heavyweight champion has been touted for a match-up with his fellow Briton for a number of years, only to see each attempt to set up a bout fall short.

A fight looked closer than ever earlier this year before another breakdown in negotiations, leaving Fury instead to set up another fight with Derek Chisora next month.

Though Fury has retired, or indicated he would quit, multiple times before, the 34-year-old now says he will not depart from the sport before he fights his rival.

"I don't think I can retire today," he told The High Performance podcast. "Because I need that Joshua fight. We have been trying to make that fight for years.

"It's the fight that people want to see. It's the fight that I want to see as a boxing fan. 

"I think it would be an absolute dying travesty if me and Joshua didn't fight in this era."

Elsewhere, Fury spoke about the fresh wave of talent in the heavyweight division, led by Oleksandr Usyk, that has emerged around him, and how he sometimes wonders whether he still has the fight in him.

"For the last four or five years, there has been this three-headed monster: me, [Deontay] Wilder, Joshua," he added.

"Joshua and Wilder have been slain, and I'm the last one standing.

"All of a sudden, you've got some new people coming up now - Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, and Usyk's gate-crashed the party.

"Now there's a load of new blood that wasn't there five years ago and it's like, 'Can you beat this person?'."

Fury will fight Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3.

Oleksandr Usyk wants to fight Tyson Fury in his homeland of Ukraine, and has called on the "unpredictable" WBC heavyweight champion to agree to a bout before March 2023.

Usyk last fought in August, when he successfully defended the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight belts by posting a second win over Anthony Joshua in Jeddah.

The 35-year-old immediately targeted a meeting with Fury after that triumph, but the Gypsy King's desire to fight in 2022 means he will face Derek Chisora for a third time in December.

Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum recently revealed talks with Uysk's camp were imminent, and the Ukrainian – who signed up with the Kyiv Territorial Defence following Russia's invasion of the country in February – would love to take the bout to his homeland.

"The organisers are trying to figure out where they can earn more money," Usyk said at an event in Lisbon. "For me, yes, I would really like to fight in Ukraine. 

"The country is really capable of hosting this kind of fight. I would be really happy to see it happen in the Olympic Arena in [Kyiv], Ukraine.

"But it is not me who chooses the venue, so I guess it will be Saudi Arabia."

Usyk then moved to set a timeframe for any fight with Fury, adding he was not considering any other opponents for early 2023.

"Right now, my team is seeking conversations with Tyson Fury, and he is really an unpredictable person, so we can't guarantee when," he added.

"For me, the idea would be to fight maybe in early February or the beginning of March, like March 4, because I am an orthodox Christian.

"During the great fasting before Easter I do not fight, so it should be all before or then after orthodox Easter [April 16].

"I want to fight with Fury because I need the fourth [major] belt, and I don't want to fight with anyone else until I have the fourth belt."

Fury has already defeated Chisora on two occasions – winning by unanimous decision in July 2011 before stopping him after 10 rounds in November 2014, and Usyk is unsure why he needs the trilogy fight.

"I don't know why he needs this fight," he added. "Maybe he thinks because it would be one year without a fight, now he needs it. I think it is some manoeuvre, because I don't know why he needs this."

Anthony Joshua acknowledged he needed to "rest mentally" after being "torn apart" by his loss to Oleksandr Usyk, though he vowed he will eventually face Tyson Fury.

A 'Battle of Britain' clash between Joshua and Fury seemed set for December 3 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, only to for the bout to break down after negotiations collapsed.

The meeting between the two British heavyweights would have followed Joshua's rematch loss to Usyk, who successfully defended his WBA, IBF and WBO belts in August's title match in Saudi Arabia.

While Joshua suggested he will meet in the ring with Fury at some point, the former admitted he needed time off after a draining defeat to the Ukrainian.

"You saw after my last fight, it tore me apart," Joshua said in an interview with DAZN.

"I had so much riding on it, for me, the British fans, the undisputed fight, it just really tore me apart. So from a mental capacity, my close ones are telling me, 'you should rest mentally'.

"Physically, I'm down to fight. I'm a warrior, I like this game, I like competing. But on a mental aspect, I think people have really seen it means a lot.

"I was supposed to be in the ring on December 3. When you're saying, 'when are we going to see you back in the ring?' that was the date but obviously it's not happening. 

"But I've got a good team and I've got to just leave certain things to them because all that other stuff, back and forth and social media, it's quite time-consuming. But you've got to play the game as well.

"And my dance partner, the last geezer I was supposed to fight (Fury), he's a good dance partner, he handles the social media side and I think we do good business behind the scenes to be fair.  

"It will happen, we’re in the same era. Just as two competitors, two fighters. He's definitely someone that's a fighting man."

Joshua is yet to confirm his next opponent after failing to agree a deal with Fury, who settled for another all-British fight with Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3.

Vasiliy Lomachenko says he is "ready" to face undisputed lightweight champion Devin Haney after defeating Jamaine Ortiz on his return from military service in Ukraine.

Three-time lightweight champion Lomachenko returned to defend his homeland in Ukraine after the invasion by Russia, before resuming his career on Saturday with a unanimous decision victory over Ortiz.

The 34-year-old will now eye a clash with Haney, who was in attendance at Madison Square Garden in New York and outlined his hopes for fighting Lomachenko, stating "hopefully we can get it on".

"I will be ready," replied Lomachenko, who reportedly rejected a major title unification with George Kambosos earlier this year, instead opting to return to Ukraine and enlist for the Territorial Defence force.

Lomachenko added on his return against Ortiz: "I'm happy to be back in the ring and make this great show. He is a tough fighter, he is a good fighter."

As for the mouthwatering prospect of a clash between Lomachenko and Haney, the Ukrainian's promoter Bob Arum suggested a potential clash would be a meeting between the two best lightweights.

"The fight to make in the lightweight division is Haney versus Lomachenko," Arum said.

"We will do everything we can to make the undisputed championship showdown that all fight fans want to see. They are the world’s premier lightweights, and it would be a fantastic battle."

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Lomachenko is expected to return to Ukraine to help his home country.

Eddie Hearn was not concerned by the failure to secure Anthony Joshua a fight against Tyson Fury, and named Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder as potential opponents for Joshua in 2023.

Discussions between Joshua and Fury regarding a December 3 bout collapsed earlier this month, with promoters on both sides publicly blaming each other for the breakdown in a deal.

It was the second time a proposed 'Battle of Britain' fight between the two had fallen through, having previously agreed to face one another in Saudi Arabia last year before Fury was ordered to honour his rematch with Wilder.

While a second collapse of the fight was disappointing for boxing fans, Hearn conceded he always felt it was not the right move to make.

"I don't sit here today, as someone who represents Anthony Joshua, devastated that fight didn't happen," he told Talksport.

"He wanted to take it, so I was all in, but it was a very quick turnaround for him in a fight of that magnitude."

While Fury will return to the ring in December, facing Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Joshua is unlikely to fight until the first quarter of 2023, with Hearn naming Whyte and Wilder as potential opponents next year.

"I think he's going to fight [in] January or February, early next year. I think the fight you'll see is Dillian Whyte against Anthony Joshua," he added.

"Wilder is [also] definitely a fight for 2023. He's got to fight Andy Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator for the WBC, which is a tremendous fight.

"I think AJ vs Wilder might just be the biggest fight in boxing, you only need the edge of your seat to watch that fight. It's super dangerous and someone's going to sleep, but it's two fast, explosive, huge punching, heavyweight machines.

"I think you'll see either Wilder or Fury against AJ next year, but I think you'll definitely see the Dillian Whyte fight if he can get through Jermaine Franklin."

Whyte is due to face Franklin in London on November 23.

Tyson Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum has revealed talks over a heavyweight unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk will begin next week.

Usyk claimed the WBA Super, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight belts by beating Anthony Joshua in London last year, before retaining them in August's rematch in Saudi Arabia.

The Ukrainian's second win over Joshua led to speculation he would face WBC heavyweight champion Fury in a unification bout, but he quickly ruled making out a return to the ring in 2022.

Fury will face Derek Chisora for a third time in December, but all the signs point to him meeting Usyk next year.

Arum – who promotes Fury alongside Frank Warren – told Sky Sports he would meet with Usyk and his manager Egis Klimas to discuss the bout in the coming days.

"I'll be having dinner with them without any question, probably on the Thursday night [October 27]," Arum said.

"I'll have a very long discussion with them about what their plans are and when it could be in their best interests to get the fight on.

"I know from previous conversations with both of them that they want that fight against Tyson Fury."

Fury has won 32 of his 33 professional fights, with a draw against Deontay Wilder in 2018 the only blot on his record, but Arum feels Usyk would provide the Gypsy King with a serious test.

"If there's anybody around who really has a good, good chance with Tyson Fury, it's Oleksandr Usyk," Arum added.

Meanwhile, Arum also believes Fury's meeting with Chisora will serve as perfect preparation for facing Usyk, who was taken the distance by the 38-year-old in October 2020.

"Chisora wasn't selected by Frank Warren and myself for Tyson just out of the blue," Arum said. 

"Yes, Chisora lost twice early on to Tyson, but remember his fight with Usyk where he gave Usyk life and death. A lot thought that he might have eked out a victory.

"If you're getting ready to fight Usyk, fight a guy who went in with him and carried him into deep waters.

"Chisora is not just a walkover. Chisora has demonstrated tremendous punching power and if you lose concentration and he hits you in the right place on the chin, it's dangerous."

Although Tyson Fury's proposed bout with Anthony Joshua appears to be dead in the water, the latter remains in the WBC heavyweight champion's head.

That is according to Fury's next opponent, Derek Chisora.

The Gypsy King will defend his title against Chisora on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in what will be the third fight between the pair.

Fury beat Chisora when they first met in 2011, before also defeating him almost eight years ago.

A deal recently seemed to have been reached for Fury to face Joshua, with both parties appearing optimistic about contracts being signed.

However, after missing a deadline imposed by Fury, the champion's camp called negotiations off and instead turned attention to a bout against Chisora.

Despite being the new contender, Chisora has claimed Fury is unable to take his focus off Joshua, and defended AJ's decision not to sign the deal.

"AJ is living in Tyson's head rent-free," Chisora said. "Tyson wakes up every day thinking about AJ and cannot do an interview without mentioning AJ.

"AJ is off living his life, doing his own thing. I don't know why Tyson keeps talking about AJ.

"AJ could not take the fight because there were so many complications with sponsors and promoters.

"The fighters always want to fight, just fight, but the complications come from the business people around them who get in the way."

Tyson Fury is considering becoming the new owner of Morecambe to throw "millions" at the League One club.

The WBC world heavyweight champion already has his ‘Gypsy King’ brand embroidered on the Shrimps' shorts.

After it was announced Fury will face Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a trilogy fight on December 3, the unbeaten 34-year-old revealed he is mulling over a takeover of the club in the seaside town where he lives.

He told talkSPORT on Thursday: "Quick question, I'm thinking about buying Morecambe Football Club, they're in League One at the moment.

"So I was thinking I invest X amount of millions in them."

Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan replied: "By invest you mean throw it at them, invest is the wrong term."

Fury said: "Yeah, basically throw it at them and keep them going up. I've been offered to buy Morecambe Football Club.

"I own all the training facilities anyway and the training gym. So who knows? You might be looking at a football club owner."

Jordan asked Fury: "You know how to make a small fortune in football?”

The world champion responded: "Start off with a bigger one! It's the same as being a boxing promoter."

Tyson Fury praised Derek Chisora for accepting a December 3 fight, aiming a not-so-subtle dig towards Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

The two heavyweights will go toe-to-toe at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with Fury's WBC belt on the line, after the Gypsy King was unable to secure an agreement to fight either Usyk or Joshua.

That led to disappointment among fans, with the initial reception for a trilogy bout against Chisora not a positive one, but Fury always intended to fight before the end of the year and says his opponent has "balls" which others in the division lack.

"You've got the so-called guys in the division, the 'top guys', we offer them fights but there's no smoke. You offer it to Chisora, boom, he's sat here opposite me," Fury said in Thursday's press conference.

"The man has got balls. In today's society, in this boxing game, there's a lack of balls. You know who you are, these people who don't want smoke.

"With Chisora, he does what it says on the tin, he goes to war. We're going to get a war. I did outbox him comfortably the second time, but his style has changed and so has mine.

"When you've got two heavy forces colliding with two heavy bombs, someone is getting knocked out. If he lands a big punch on me, I'm getting knocked out. If I land a big swing on him, he's getting knocked out.

"The fans are going to win, 100 per cent. I promised Chisora for years that we would have a third fight. We're going to put on a hell of a fight."

Promoter Frank Warren has outlined Fury's future in the ring beyond the trilogy bout against Chisora, with a proposed unification bout against Usyk still planned for the first quarter of next year.

"If Tyson comes through December 3, he's going to fight Oleksandr Usyk and after that he may wind up fighting Joe Joyce," Warren told TalkSport.

Tyson Fury will fight Derek Chisora for a third time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a proposed bout with Anthony Joshua fell through.

Talks over a fight between Fury and Joshua fell through, but there will be another all-British heavyweight battle in London.

WBC champion Fury will defend his title against Chisora, who he beat when they first met in 2011 and got the better of again almost eight years ago.

Fury intends to fight Oleksandr Usyk in a bid to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion in the first part of 2023, but next up will be Chisora.

The unbeaten 'Gypsy King' earned a unanimous decision when he fought Chisora for the first time and had his arms raised again after his fellow Englishman was retired by his corner at the end of the 10th round in their rematch at Wembley.

Fury, 34, insisted he had retired after stopping Dillian Whyte in April, but it was no surprise when he made a U-turn to resume his career.

Unbeaten in 33 fights, the 34-year-old will be a strong favourite to beat Chisora for a third time.

The 38-year-old Chisora stopped Kubrat Pulev in his last bout at the O2 Arena in London, taking his record to 33 victories and 12 defeats.

WBA world champion Daniel Dubois will make a first defence of his belt against South African southpaw Kevin Lerena on the undercard.

Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, said: "I am thrilled to be delivering a Tyson Fury world title defence in front of the British fans in London. Tyson clearly conquered America across his trilogy with Deontay Wilder and there is also huge demand to stage his fights from sites across the world.

"Tyson wanted to fight in his home country again this year following his special night at Wembley Stadium in April. This brings us to the magnificent Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and a match against an old rival in Derek Chisora.

"Derek, also a big favourite with British fans, has reinvented himself in recent years and Tyson has long stated his wish to fight him for a third time.

"Tyson can't afford any slip-up in this fight as he has the much-publicised undisputed match-up with Usyk in the new year which we're really looking forward to."

Tyson Fury's promoter Frank Warren revealed the 'Gypsy King' is set to face Derek Chisora for a third time in December after talks over a bout with Anthony Joshua broke down.

Fury U-turned on a decision to retire following April's win over Dillian Whyte and appeared set to meet Joshua after offering him the chance for a WBC heavyweight championship fight last month.

Warren said that fight was "90 per cent" finalised in mid-September, but talks have since broken down, with Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn declaring he would not "play a game" with Fury last week.

With Oleksandr Usyk prepared to wait until 2023 for his next fight, Fury now appears set for a trilogy bout with Chisora, whom he defeated in July 2011 and November 2014.

Asked about the breakdown in talks with Joshua's camp, Warren told iFL TV: "Obviously that caused a big problem, it went on for three or four weeks and we've been struggling to get an opponent. 

"We've got the highest-ranked opponent now, which is Derek Chisora. That's where we'll be going and that will be on December 3.

"What it's all about is, Tyson will have had one fight in one year, and we were expecting the fight in December would be Usyk, but Usyk wasn't available.

"Now that looks like – I hope – going on at some time in February, so Tyson wants a fight before then and wants to get out, that's where we're at. If he fights Chisora and comes through that, then he's got the big one.

"Tyson's head and shoulders above them all anyway. Derek might give him more of a fight than Anthony Joshua – I'm not being disrespectful, I just think he [AJ] is more vulnerable."

While the fight is yet to be formally agreed, Fury has long desired another meeting with Chisora, saying in August: "I'd always said I'd fight Derek Chisora at the end of my career, and here we are, breaking all records again, setting precedents."

Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua's proposed fight with Tyson Fury will not go ahead as things stand, insisting he will not "play a game" with the WBC heavyweight champion.

Fury initially offered Joshua the chance of a December bout last month, with Hearn subsequently revealing positive talks had been held with the Gypsy King's team.

However, Fury then set Joshua's representatives a deadline of September 26 to get the fight signed off, and declared discussions were "officially over" when that was not met.

Last week, Hearn told Sky Sports he was "baffled" by Fury's antics, adding: "we'll see what happens from here".

Hearn now appears convinced the fight will not take place, and has hit out at Fury for repeatedly insulting Joshua on social media.  

"As far as we're concerned, the fight's off. We're happy to continue the discussions," Hearn said in an interview with Matchroom Boxing.

"In our mind, he's not fighting Anthony Joshua. We're more than happy to continue those conversations, but what we've been told is the deadline has passed, and so have the entire country.

"We have sent the final version of the contract back, they've come back with points and we were told that the fight is off by the man himself.

"They gave us terms, ultimately, and a date they thought we wouldn't accept. We did accept that. We were ready to go. 

"If they were to sign the contract on Monday [September 26], they had a fight. We were asked to agree the deal by Monday, then we were asked to agree it by Wednesday. 

"We got the comments back on Wednesday. We were never going to sign the fight [then], and we were told the fight's off.

"It's still there. It's still open for discussion. But we're not going to play a game with a bloke that's just coming out telling AJ it's off, and then that he's a 'dosser', that he's got to sign it, etc.

"Have your fight if you fight someone else, and we'll do our thing and we'll see what happens."