It’s been six months since we last saw Tyson Fury in the ring, but in those short six months, a lot has changed.
No longer is Anthony Joshua the top heavyweight in the world after losing his unified titles on June 1 and Deontay Wilder is back to fighting Luis Ortiz one more time later this year. As for Fury, well he has a brand new promotional home and television network to fight on in the United States.
The world will finally see Fury once again on June 15 when he takes on unbeaten German heavyweight Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas. The fight will mark Fury’s first time fighting on an ESPN platform and as a member of the Top Rank roster.
Coming off the draw against Wilder in their first encounter last December, it was assumed that the two would fight again this spring but that never happened as Fury signed with Top Rank. The rematch, once thought to have been lost in the wake of Fury’s sudden move to ESPN, appears to be back in order when Wilder announced on social media that contracts have been signed for the two heavyweights to fight each other for the WBC heavyweight title in the coming months.
Of course, part of that rematch hinges on the success of both men being successful in their next fights. While Wilder plans to have only the Ortiz rematch before focusing on Fury, the British heavyweight plans to have at least one more fight after June 15.
As for the task ahead, Fury is certainly confident of his chances of beating Schwarz as he said in a recent media call that all he knows about Schwarz is that he’s going to “smash his jaw and break his ribs.” That really is more like Fury the showman talking, but Fury the boxer understands that Schwarz may not have any outstanding opponents on his record, he does possess a solid amount of power and is capable of knocking down Fury, something that has happened to him multiple times throughout his career.
The card, taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will feature a number of notable names across various divisions. The co-main event, also streamed on ESPN+, will feature former world title challengers Jesse Hart and Sullivan Barrera facing off in a fight that will have the winner in the title picture in what is becoming a fast-growing and deep light heavyweight division. Also on the undercard, which will be televised on ESPN2, will have rising women’s star Mikaela Mayer taking on former world title challenger Lizbeth Crespo.
Below is the full card with the network in parenthesis:
Main card, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN+ in the U.S./BT Sport Box Office in the U.K.):
- Tyson Fury vs. Tom Schwarz: Lineal Heavyweight title
- Sullivan Barrera vs. Jesse Hart
Undercard, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2):
- Mikaela Mayer vs. Lizbeth Crespo
- Albert Bell vs. Andy Vences: WBC Continental Americas Super Featherweight Title
- Duarn Vue vs. Isaac Lowe: WBC International Featherweight Title
- Guido Vianello vs. Keenan Hickman
- Peter Kadiru vs. Juan Torres
- Sonny Conto vs. Daniel Infante (Swing Bout #1)
- Cem Kilic vs. Martez McGregor (Swing Bout #2)
Tale of the Tape:
Tyson Fury:
Record: 27-0-1 (19 KO)
Age: 30
Height: 6’9”
Reach: 85”
Notable Opponents: Deontay Wilder, Wladimir Klitschko, Christian Hammer, Derek Chisora, Steve Cunningham
Titles Won: Lineal Heavyweight, WBA Heavyweight, WBO Heavyweight, IBF Heavyweight Titles
Tom Schwarz:
Record: 24-0 (16 KO)
Age: 25
Height: 6’5.5”
Notable Opponents: Senad Gashi
Titles Won: WBO Intercontinental Heavyweight, WBC Youth World Heavyweight, WBO Youth Heavyweight, German BDB Heavyweight Titles
