Tyson Fury is set to make his ESPN debut against undefeated Tom Schwarz, according to reports coming from Germany.
The clash will be confirmed on Saturday night at the Kubrat Pulev v Bogdan Dinu event in California, boxen1.com are attributing to ‘ESPN insiders’.
If made official, it’s yet another huge blow for boxing fans. The paying public is being short-changed due to a current TV bidding war.
Fury was due to fight Deontay Wilder in a huge rematch. The sport was robbed of this fight by ESPN’s desire to offer Fury tens of millions of dollars to walk away.
‘The Gypsy King’ is now set to embark on a campaign of also-ran opponents. A run which looks set to begin with Schwarz on June 15 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
It’s hard to see how Fury facing Schwarz, a 24 year-old without a name of note on his record, can justify negating on a return with Wilder.
Thus far, the heavyweight division is looking massively disappointing for the first six months of 2019. Hugely annoying when it could have been so much different.
Wilder v Fury II taking place was paramount to the continued success of the sport. Delaying this fight and neither battling Anthony Joshua will only contribute to a decline in the quality of programming.
One shining light this year could be the run of cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk in the top division. But even this move is on the verge of being wrecked. A decision to stage the fight on the same night as Wilder faces Dominic Breazeale seems unfathomable.
At present, it’s setback after setback for the paying public, and until something changes at the top, the frustrations are going to continue.
As things currently stand, the TV bosses rule and the best interests of the fans is being completely ignored.
Top Heavyweight fights in 2019:
Anthony Joshua v Jarrell Miller
Deontay Wilder v Dominic Breazeale
Tyson Fury v Tom Schwarz (unconfirmed)
Oleksandr Usyk v Carlos Takam (unconfirmed)
Kubrat Pulev v Bogdan Dinu
