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Fury-Klitschko rematch may get pushed back to the fall, promoter says

Fighters Network
30
Mar
Photo by Lars Baron / Bongarts

Photo: Lars Baron / Bongarts

The long-awaited rematch between Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko could be pushed back to as late as the fall, K2 Promotions managing director Tom Loeffler acknowledged to RingTV.com on Wednesday.

While the bout is still optimistically being targeted for the summer with July 9 a new working date, the situation remains fluid because of a host of logistics that have yet to be resolved, such as the venue and the TV concerns, Loeffler said.

Thus, Loeffler floated the possibility the bout could be put off to the autumn months, delaying a rematch that has dragged on through a number of proposed dates. Fury won a unanimous decision against Klitschko last November in Germany, snatching his WBO, WBA and IBF titles and ending his decade-old reign.

“It just depends- I know on the Klitschko side they’d like to do it as soon as possible,” Loeffler said in a phone interview. “On both sides it seems they want to do it as soon as possible. But it seems for one reason or another it got pushed back from April to May to June and hopefully we can still do it in the summertime.”



Loeffler said that Klitschko’s manager Berndt Boente and Fury’s promoter Mick Hennessy are currently in discussions. The fight will likely take place at a soccer stadium in the United Kingdom, Loeffler said. Yet because the various television interests have to match up their schedules, from broadcasters in the UK to Germany to HBO, there is still much to work out, opening the possibility of the fight taking place later than most expected, he said.

“I’m guessing it would be sometime in the summer or in the fall whenever they can because there are a lot of moving parts with that because of the location, with the UK PPV, German TV, HBO, everything has to line up,” said Loeffler, who promotes Klitschko. Loeffler thought the two camps agreed to meet on June 4th but that date was changed after Fury suffered a back injury helping his cousin Hughie Fury prepare for a fight. Both camps had also once-upon-a-time eyed a May 7 date.

“It’s one of those things that have to be fully agreed to by both sides what is the best venue, the best date,” Loeffler said. “Wladimir certainly wants to get his titles back and Tyson Fury has no fear of Wladimir, so it’s not like either side doesn’t want the fight. It’s a massive fight, a worldwide event and it’s just something we want to make sure we find the best situation for the date and location.”

 

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