Boxing: Fury on course for return to the ring

Anthony Joshua catches Wladimir Klitschko with a right upper cut during their bout at Wembley. Photo / Getty Images

The prospect of Tyson Fury fighting Anthony Joshua has increased with Fury ready to confirm his return to the ring in the next month.

Fury is being permitted by the Ring Magazine to hold on to the heavyweight division's No1 status belt if he has a fight scheduled within 29 days, according to the editor of the renowned publication, and the fighter said he plans to meet this deadline.

The Ring Magazine awards its belt to the fighter deemed No1 in each weight division and Fury, its holder after outboxing Wladimir Klitschko in Dsseldorf in November 2015 to win by a unanimous points decision, became the heavyweight holder last year. Michael Rosenthal, the editor of the Ring Magazine, said: "Fury has been told that if he has a fight booked within a month of Joshua and Klitschko fighting at Wembley, he will retain the belt."

Fury, out through mental heath issues and the admission of taking cocaine, still has a hearing with UK-Anti-Doping this month, and will have to get a Boxing Board licence again depending on what ban, if any, he receives.

The lure, of course, is a contest with Joshua, which could conceivably be much bigger than the fight with Klitschko. The demand would be huge from British boxing fans, the two fighters should be keen to see who is the dominant boxer in the division and it would be extremely lucrative.

With Joshua v Klitschko breaking pay-per-view records in Britain and reaching an estimated 1.4 million buys in homes and public houses, the two are expected to have earned 15m ($28m) apiece.

Should Fury and Joshua collide in a battle of the Britons, that pay-per-view record would almost certainly be broken again. With bragging rights, belts and big budgets on the table, this is a contest which looks destined to happen as soon as Fury has regained his fighter status. Having the Ring Magazine belt simply strengthens his position for negotiation.

Meanwhile, IBF, WBA and IBO heavyweight champion Joshua said he is eager for a rematch with Klitschko following the pair's thrilling fight on Sunday.

Joshua defeated 41-year-old Klitshcko after 11 rounds in British boxing's biggest bout to extend his winning streak to 19 fights. Klitschko's record now stands at 64 wins to five losses.

A clause in their contract allows the beaten fighter to ask for a rematch but Klitschko said he would take some time before making a decision.

"A rematch will be good, because of the type of fight we had," Joshua said.

"I think he will want to fight again, because a fighter is the last one to know when to stop. But I think the team around him, his wife [fiancee, American actress Hayden Panettiere] because they normally wear the trousers, and his brother might advise him differently."

Joshua said he respected Klitschko and had no qualms about a rematch.

" I wouldn't mind fighting him again if he wants the rematch. It's up to him," Joshua said.