The 27 year-old has used social media to state his case for a comeback at exactly the same moments the biggest top division clash of recent times (capacity-wise) nears landmark points in the build-up.
Fury is obviously envious of the fact two of his most fierce rivals are hogging the spotlight, although the flip side is that boxing could welcome back one of its prized assets when all is said and done.
It’s surely no coincidence that Fury is back in training the very same week Joshua and Klitschko are preparing to smash records at Wembley Stadium in front of a sold-out crowd of 90,000 in London – as a case of ‘what might have been’ raises its head in Fury’s mind.
Joshua v Klitschko has made the one-time unified champion take a long hard look at himself in the mirror amidst certain wonders of whether it could have been him in the opposite corner this Saturday night at the National Stadium.
Granted the rematch against Klitschko was the contracted bout for Fury initially, but completing those duties as originally agreed in the summer of 2016 would have left ‘2 Fast’ in the position to face Joshua this spring.
Instead, a newly-focused Fury is attempting to lose over 100 pounds in weight over in a Marbella training camp from a year and a half of excess and put himself back in the title picture, at least by the end of 2017.
Posting pictures on Instagram of a photoshopped Joshua or labelling all of the current crop of contenders ‘bitches’ is all good and well when you’re in a position to compete against them all, something which still seems a long way off for Fury.
A return date in July is a massive mountain to climb for the outspoken Ring Magazine title holder, whose mental state may well become fragile again once Joshua v Klitschko fight week has died down.
It would be truly great to see one of the sport’s most charismatic and entertaining personalities correct the problems currently dogging him and make a sensational return to the ring, proving everyone wrong in the process and adding to an already exciting division.
Being involved day-to-day with the likes of Billy Joe Saunders will be a massive help to Fury’s recovery, and once the weight begins to fly off, fights against some of the top names will once again be within reach.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
