Tyson Fury has named Agit Kabayel as his fallback if the Anthony Joshua fight falls apart, and he says the bout would go to Wembley. The 36-year-old heavyweight said the route still leaves him chasing a third world title, but only if Joshua’s path keeps slipping out of reach.
The timing matters because Joshua is already scheduled to face Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 25, while Fury needs to get through a second warm-up fight in August before any meeting with Joshua can happen. Fury is still the public face of the division’s unfinished business, and his next move now appears tied to whether both men win again before a date is even set.
Fury’s name has stayed in circulation because he keeps being linked to Joshua, yet he has also been forced to talk through backup plans. On Saturday he was in Manchester at a Misfits event, then a day later he was on the White House lawn at a UFC event, and yesterday he was presented at the White House and said Dana White would have an announcement to make about his future. That left him explaining, again, what happens if the biggest fight in British boxing does not land.
That is where Kabayel comes in. Fury had previously said he would not fight him for any amount of money, but he later told IFL TV that if Oleksandr Usyk pulls out of the fight with Kabayel, then he is in with Kabayel. He also said that if the Joshua fight does not happen for whatever reason, he will get his shot against Kabayel and take it to Wembley. It is a sharp turn from the “some things ain’t worth fighting for” line he used when talking about Kabayel and Joseph Parker, and it shows how quickly the heavyweight picture can change when the title route narrows.
The wider issue is simple. Fury’s chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion depends first on Joshua’s fight being made and won, and if that path fails, Kabayel becomes the alternative route only if the belt situation breaks the right way. Usyk must decide whether to face Kabayel or move elsewhere, and if he vacates the WBC belt, Fury could be in line for the full title. For now, Fury has done the only thing he can do publicly: name the fallback, name the venue, and leave the rest to the next result in August.
