The Hottest Boxing Storylines for the Week of October 9
Tyson Fury remained in the news this past week, and like last week, the news continues to be troubling.
The heavyweight champion's drug problems appear worse than they seemed, and we begin with a call for the towering big man to get himself the help that will prevent a tragic ending to his story.
Real life should always come before any sport, and this is one of those situations.
Next, we take a look at the latest on negotiations between Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs for a December fight. Here's a spoiler alert: Things aren't looking up after some early optimism.
All that, plus we go over the latest on Canelo Alvarez avoiding surgery and looking for a three-fight schedule in 2017, the path toward sorting out the new heavyweight mess and Luis Ortiz's big deal with Eddie Hearn.
These are the hottest boxing storylines for the week!
Will Tyson Fury Get the Help He Needs?
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Fury is in a bad way, and this goes well beyond the bounds of professional boxing.
The reigning heavyweight champion (at least for now) was reported last week to have tested positive for cocaine. In an interview with Stayton Bonner of Rolling Stone, he said that he's "done lots of cocaine."
This is a serious situation and one that requires Fury to seek out and accept the type of help that can get his life off what seems to be a path toward ruin.
The towering Brit has always been known for his brash attitude and sometimes over-the-top antics. But his behavior has become increasingly erratic since capturing the heavyweight crown from Wladimir Klitschko in a snoozefest last November.
Instead of boosting his career, it seems that everything following that day has fallen apart for him in the public eye.
He's twice pulled himself from a rematch, and now we see why boxing should be the furthest thing from his mind. This is real life and a real man who is in trouble.
Billy Joe Saunders, who is a good friend of Fury, has stated his concerns that his friend won't make it to his 30th birthday if he doesn't get the help he needs, per PA Sport (h/t ESPN.com). That's how bad this situation has become.
Fury hasn't always endeared himself to every segment of the boxing public, but we should all be rooting for him right now. Hopefully, he gets the help he needs and rights the ship before it ends tragically.
Does GGG-Jacobs Have Any Chance of Happening?
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It wasn't too far back that people were optimistic about the chances of GGG defending his unified middleweight championship against Jacobs this December in New York City.
The fight had been targeted for either Madison Square Garden (where Golovkin has sold out the big room) or the Barclays Center in Jacobs' backyard, but the optimism seems to be diminishing with each second a deal doesn't get finalized.
Dan Rafael of ESPN.com reported that negotiations between Tom Loeffler (who represents GGG) and Al Haymon (who represents Jacobs) have gotten messy.
The WBA's negotiating window was set to expire on Wednesday, but the sanctioning body has extended that deadline for two more weeks in an effort to help facilitate a deal. That comes despite Loeffler requesting the purse bid after concluding it unlikely that the sides would reach a deal, per Mitch Abramson of Ring TV.
The Jacobs camp has also formally requested that the WBA adjust the purse split in the event a bid is called. It's conventional under the rules for the champion to receive a 75-25 split, but Jacobs is looking to make that 60-40 in favor of Golovkin.
A request to change the split isn't all that unusual, but it's unlikely to succeed.
If a deal can't be reached by the new deadline, it could quickly develop into a tricky situation.
GGG has an exclusive contract with HBO, and if Haymon wins the bid, he could move the fight to Showtime or one of his Premier Boxing Champions' outlets. That would force tough decisions all around.
All this combines to make for a situation that looks more volatile by the day.
Can We Sort the Heavyweight Mess?
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Boxing is often called the theater of the absurd, and you need only look at the heavyweight division to see why. It wasn't too long ago that it seemed the land of the big men was having a resurgence with new blood on top and potentially enticing matchups all over the place, but that momentum seems to have stalled.
Fury remains sidelined with problems far more important than title belts.
He's likely to be stripped and needs to seek professional help before it's too late.
Anthony Joshua now looks less like the future of the division and more like the man who could take it over at present. And he could consolidate that position by taking on and taking out Klitschko in his next fight.
Andrew Dickson of Sky Sports reports that Joshua is confident a deal will get made to defend his IBF Heavyweight Championship (which was stripped from Fury shortly after he won it) against Klitschko, the division's longtime face.
That would go a long way toward establishing whether the division's new face or its old guard represents the top fighter in the yard.
Deontay Wilder remains on the shelf with injuries suffered during his voluntary defense against Chris Arreola, while Alexander Povetkin and Bermane Stiverne are set to do battle for the WBC's interim belt in his absence. The winner will become his mandatory.
It may not be what we'd call ideal, but if we can get the top two fighters left standing once this mess is sorted out into the ring sooner rather than later, it can be salvaged, and the division can move on.
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How Fast Can Canelo Return?
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Rafael reported that Canelo has received a second opinion on the injured thumb he suffered while bludgeoning Liam Smith to take the Brit's 154-pound title this past September in Texas, and it will not require surgery.
Even though there is no break (as initially feared), the injury will still keep the Mexican superstar on the shelf for the remainder of 2016, with his team targeting a return date sometime early in the new year.
That could kick off an active campaign as he seeks to restore some of his reputation after a rough year filled with accusations of ducking GGG.
Miguel Rivera of Boxing Scene reported that the cinnamon-haired star could fight three times in 2017.
According to Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez (via Rivera), the plan right now is to have Canelo fight in either late January or early February, followed by dates in May and September to coincide with Mexican holidays that are traditionally big fight weekends.
It's too early to speculate on potential opposition, but fight fans are going to zero in on that September date which they hope will be an anticipated clash between boxing's biggest commercial draw and its most avoided fighter (GGG).
Otherwise, the criticism is going to be savage.
Does Ortiz's Matchroom Deal Mean Big Fights Are on the Horizon?
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Ortiz split from his longtime promoters at Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year in an attempt to secure more meaningful fights in a wide-open heavyweight division. At the time, it seemed like a risky gambit, but it's one that might now pay off.
The 37-year-old Cuban big hitter has inked a new promotional deal with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing and will make his debut under its banner in November, per Boxing Scene. The plan is to keep him active and work toward a heavyweight title shot.
Ortiz holds the WBA's interim championship but has had a hard time attracting the bigger names in the division to fight him. That has a lot to do with his size and power.
He's a big-bodied fighter with concussive force on his shots—an easy night for nobody.
His last fight was a knockout of veteran Tony Thompson in March, and Hearn hopes to get Ortiz a slot on the upcoming Joshua card (which could feature a significant main event against Klitschko). That would be a big spot on a premier event and could force his name into the conversation for whoever emerges.
And that could make many of the critics, who weren't big fans of his decision to leave Golden Boy, eat their words.
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