Tyson Fury’s chances of facing Wladimir Klitschko in the UK this summer have been handed a major boost with HBO Sports president Ken Hershman set to be in attendance for his fight this Saturday night.
Fury, mandatory challenger for Klitschko’s WBO title, takes on Christian Hammer this weekend at the O2 Arena, with news that Hershman will be ringside to assess the possibility of a UK megafight with the Ukrainian great acting as a huge incentive.
26-year-old Fury has pushed himself into the number one position to face Klitschko with a commanding 10th round win over brave Londoner Dereck Chisora last November.
Hershman was one of the key figures in getting boxing’s most sought after fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao confirmed, when HBO and Showtime agreed to a unique pay-per-view collaboration for the highly-anticipated May 2nd showdown.
Now, the HBO Sports boss will be looking to pave the way for the first heavyweight world title fight on British soil in nearly 5 years, following David Haye’s defense of his WBA crown against the much maligned Audley Harrison.
Klitschko, is the clear top dog of his generation at heavyweight, and the chance to see him fight in the flesh against the talented and colorful Fury will have British fight fans licking their lips. Hershman will hold discussions in London with promoter Frank Warren with the hopes of ironing out a summer blockbuster that will give Fury a home court advantage against Klitschko.
Fury though must come through his fight this Saturday night unscathed against Hammer who will have ambitions of his own as he looks to tear up the Manchester heavyweight’s world title script. Klitschko, of course, has his own fight to deal with in the interim, a defense against unbeaten American Bryant Jennings in April at Madison Square Garden.
