By Terence Dooley

A few people predicted that a Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 early) victory over long-time heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko would enliven a division that had been steady yet somewhat moribund in recent years. The 27-year-old did just that, posting a unanimous decision over the outgoing Champion in November to set up the possibility of not only a contractually mandated return but making a series of fights with his divisional rivals a distinct possibility.

The IBF placed a mandatory on Fury’s toes as soon as he won the title. However, he decided to jettison the belt rather than take on Vyacheslav Glazkov, citing his rematch with Wlad when making his decision. The IBF moved swiftly and Glazkov instead boxed Charles Martin for the vacant belt. An injury induced third-round TKO win netted the American southpaw Fury's former title, he now faces Londoner Anthony Joshua at London’s O2 venue on April 9 live on Sky Sports Box Office.

BoxingScene reached out to Peter Fury, Tyson’s uncle and trainer, to get his thoughts on the match-up between Joshua and Martin as well as the IBF’s decision to strip Fury of the title. “In some ways it was the right decision because it gives other fighters a chance and makes it even bigger if Joshua wins,” he said when interrupting his holiday for a catch up.

“It is not ideal, this politics you have in boxing, because Tyson is the real heavyweight and proper IBF Champion. It is what it is. The belt doesn’t mean much to us. Tyson is the Champion of the world, second to none, so that belt or any other belt doesn’t really make much difference. It is one of the reasons we told them to come and take the belt if they wanted it, which is what they did.”

Joshua has been installed as a heavy 7-1 favourite by the British bookies. Fury, though, sounded a note of caution by pointing out that the 29-year-old American looked good when winning the title despite the unsatisfactory nature of the fight’s conclusion.

“I was impressed with his last fight, he is hitting hard and looked good—I would make him favourite,” predicted Fury. “But if Joshua beats Martin he is IBF champion so it is great as him against Tyson becomes a big fight that could be made—although this one is a tough fight for him to get through first.

“It is a calculated risk by [Joshua's promoter Eddie] Hearn, but the right one to take as Joshua can come again. He is a 15-fight novice, really, so this is a massive opportunity for him and credit to Eddie for getting it. Big props for them getting a title fight for a fighter with limited experience. It is all positives for them as far as I can see, if he loses he will learn and come again. He also has a chance of a win, so it is a win-win situation for him.”

Fury also trains Hughie Fury (18-0, 10 KOs), his son and heavyweight contender, so he has a huge stake in the division. Joshua may be grabbing the headlines due to his streak of 15 wins (all KOs) yet Fury believes that rounds in the bank are much more important at this stage.

He said: “They’ve got to do what they’ve got to do. It is nice to blast people out, but it won’t happen like that at the top level so you have to go the rounds. There’s some very good heavyweights around so it will be interesting.

“Hughie will prove he’s world level and people will smell the coffee with this kid, just as they did with Tyson. He’s not being rushed, but he is also ready to step up into big fights because who is around to test him? Just watch what he does with a world level opponent.”

As for Tyson himself, there have been rumours swirling around the sport that Klitschko could retire rather than exercise his rematch clause. Peter has always maintained that it will be honoured should the Ukrainian carry on. “Wladimir is not retiring, I wouldn’t have through that,” he said.

“[Promoter] Mick [Hennessy] and I are pushing forward with the fight. We are trying to finalise the business of where the fight will be held so it doesn’t sound like he is contemplating retirement to me.”

One thing is for sure, a return bout will not be officiated by referee Tony Weeks if the Furys get their way. Weeks stopped the action in round 11 to deduct a point from Fury for rabbit punching. Peter believes that the official stepped in at an inopportune time to unjustly deduct what could have been a crucial point had it been closer on the cards.

“Fights depend on styles, knockouts are all about who makes a mistake,” he said. “In the eleventh round, the referee stepped in and gave some friendly help to Wlad—the point that was taking away was just a blag, really.

“I’m not trying to say anything about the referee, but he was on Tyson so we wouldn’t want him again. Maybe if we had a different referee the result of that eleventh round would have been different. We’ve got no complaints, though, as we got on with it. Tyson won and we’re happy with the result.”

Fury recently added fuel to the fire of speculation by Tweeting that he was in London finalising a big fight, he also promised a shock announcement. The newly-minted Champion seems to be enjoying life in the limelight, seemingly adopting Carl Froch’s dry, wry approach to social media. Fury told me that his nephew should be enjoyed by boxing fans.

“He is a breath of fresh air in boxing,” he said. “Look at what’s happening to the division since he won the title. Everything for a reason, I’m very happy with the fact he beat a reigning Champion—Tyson deserves maximum credit.”

Please send news and views to @Terryboxing