‘Injured’ Fury holding Klitschko hostage: manager
BERLIN: Wladimir Klitschko’s manager says Tyson Fury is holding the ex-world champion ‘hostage’ in the wake of the Briton’s latest postponement of their heavyweight rematch.
“Wladimir is totally disappointed that this bloke has delayed the fight again. He’s holding him hostage,” said Klitschko’s manager Bernd Boente.
“Wladimir wants to fight, he’s training and in the meantime it’s already been nearly a year since the first fight.”
Klitschko is based in Hamburg and his management has reserved the city’s Barclaycard Arena for December 10 in the hope the rematch can still take place in 2016.
Fury claimed a shock win over Klitschko, the Ukrainian’s first defeat in a decade, to take the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Organisation and International Boxing Federation belts in a points decision in Duesseldorf last November.
But the rematch has been blighted by problems.
After agreeing to again fight Klitschko over 12 rounds, Fury was stripped of the IBF title for failing to face its mandatory challenger. Then the rematch, set for July 9 in Manchester, was called off when the British fighter suffered an ankle injury.
