Five foes for Fury to potentially face before Joshua fight.
Tyson Fury is thought to be gearing up for a gargantuan bout with fellow British heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua. But before then, Joshua will be taking a stay-busy fight against Kristian Prenga.
It was assumed that Fury’s win over Arslanbek Makhmudov would serve as all of his preparation for the fight, but it has since been stated that he will now likely take a warm-up bout in the meantime.
It’s always fun to speculate, so let’s look at five potential options for the next opponent of “The Gypsy King”.
5. Brandon Moore.
Before the Makhmudov fight was officially announced, there were rumours that Fury might be facing Brandon ‘OJ Bam’ Moore (19-1 (1), 10 KOs), a 6’6″ heavyweight from the United States.
Size-wise, Moore certainly resembles Joshua, which could potentially prepare Fury for fighting a larger foe.
And despite losing to Richard Torrez Jr., Moore has rebounded to beat the undefeated trio of Skylar Lacy, Stanley Wright, and DeAndre Savage.
However, it’s fair to say he probably isn’t the most attractive option to the fans, and that’s despite being a warm-up bout. Though the same can be said of Kristian Prenga, so who knows?
4. Tony Yoka.
Originally meant to fight Lawrence Okolie in April, Tony ‘The Artist’ Yoka (15-3, 12 KOs) also saw a rumoured bout with Solomon Dacres on the Fabio Wardley vs. Daniel Dubois undercard not come to fruition.
Since he now has a free schedule, a fight with Fury shouldn’t be difficult to make. And due to Yoka’s profile and who he’s faced, it’s not a bad tune-up for Fury.
At 6’7″, Yoka would be the joint-tallest opponent Fury has ever faced, which would certainly be interesting to see. Yoka was also rumoured to be the opponent for Joshua’s tune-up, so there is also that dynamic.
All in all, a pretty decent option for Fury to take.
3. Murat Gassiev.
Getting into slightly more risky territory, in Murat ‘Iron’ Gassiev (33-2 (1), 26 KOs), Fury would be facing his second Russian puncher in a row.
A former unified cruiserweight champion who is now a heavyweight contender, Gassiev most recently knocked out Kubrat Pulev to become the WBA (Regular) champion.
Gassiev can very much still punch. However, he can also very much be outboxed, as evidenced by his 2023 decision loss to Otto Wallin (a former Fury foe).
With a type of hardware for Fury to win and the fact that he has displayed his ability to outbox those who can punch many times, Gassiev should be a very winnable adversary for the Englishman.
2. Nelson Hysa.
Since Joshua is fighting the second-best Albanian heavyweight in the world, maybe Fury can do one better and fight the best Albanian heavyweight in the world.
Nelson ‘The Albanian Eagle’ Hysa (24-0, 22 KOs) is one of the more mysterious characters in the heavyweight division. Despite being ranked #5 by the WBA, Hysa’s true quality is very much an uncertainty.
His résumé isn’t filled with stellar names, but it’s clear he can punch. But at 41 years old, he is running out of time to get a big opportunity, and maybe Fury can give that to him.
Having only been a professional since 2022, Hysa is many levels below Fury in terms of skill. Given that, while it doesn’t look like the safest option on paper, Fury should definitely be able to fight Hysa to stay busy before the Joshua fight.
1. Guido Vianello.
Probably the riskiest option of all mentioned so far, Guido ‘The Gladiator’ Vianello (14-3-1, 12 KOs) possesses a win over Makhmudov and a disputed loss to Efe Ajagba.
After going the distance with Torrez Jr., Vianello knocked out undefeated Canadian puncher Alexis Barriere, which was his most recent appearance in the ring.
While Vianello is a very capable fighter, he is also quite inconsistent and doesn’t actually have a lot of great wins. And at 6’6″, he also matches Joshua’s physical dimensions.
However, the Italian’s inherent ability makes him someone who maybe shouldn’t be chosen for a tick-over fight. Still, even if the Manchester colossus has diminished somewhat, his skill should be enough to get him through a fight like this.
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