Tyson Fury vs. Wladimir Klitschko Cancelled: Latest Details, Reaction | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
Daniel Santos The highly anticipated rematch between boxing heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko scheduled for October 29 has reportedly been cancelled once again.
The Manchester Evening News' David Anderson initially reported the news.
Tyson has, this week, been declared medically unfit to fight. Medical specialists have advised that the condition is too severe to allow him to participate in the rematch and that he will require treatment before going back into the ring. Tyson will now immediately undergo the treatment he needs to make a full recovery.
We and Tyson wish to express our sincerest apologies to all those concerned with the event and all the boxing fans who had been looking forward to the rematch. Tyson is understandably devastated by the development.
An ankle injury made him pull out of the original bout, which was supposed to happen on July 9.
On Saturday, Klitschko released a statement:
Klitschko @KlitschkoMessage to my fans.
Fury didn't show up for a press conference last week. Per Anderson, the champion's camp has not commented on the reported cancellation yet.
As Anderson reported, Fury has also been the subject of a UK Anti-Doping investigation after he allegedly failed a drug test.
Fans did not take news of the reported cancellation well. BenchWarmers summed up the tone of most of the reactions in this tweet:
Fury handed Klitschko his first loss since 2003 in November 2015, beating the veteran by unanimous decision to take the WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF, the Ring magazine and lineal heavyweight titles. Rumours of a rematch started almost immediately after the final bell, but bringing the two fighters together again has proved to be difficult.
Per the Independent's Jack de Menezes, the outspoken Fury threatened to retire in February, explaining he found it hard to find the motivation to train for another fight.
The 28-year-old was stripped of his IBF belt shortly after his win over Klitschko, as he refused to face mandatory opponent Vyacheslav Glazkov and instead chose to focus on a rematch with the former champ. Compatriot Anthony Joshua now holds the IBF belt, setting up a potential bout that could sell big in Britain.
If the rematch is cancelled again, Fury will have gone a full year without fighting, and there's a good chance he could lose his other belts as well.
