Tyson Fury is being lined up to defend his WBC heavyweight title on December 5 at the Royal Albert Hall in London after Fury and his team walked away from a third fight with Deontay Wilder.

Fury would face an opponent from the WBC’s top 15 in a show that will mark Frank Warren’s 40th anniversary as a promoter.

With Anthony Joshua due to defend his WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles against Kubrat Pulev at the O2 Arena, just nine miles away, seven days later, it would clear the way for an undisputed world heavyweight title fight between the pair in the first half of 2021.

Fury had been contracted to have a rematch with Wilder, whom he stopped to claim the WBC title in February. The rematch was due to take place in July but was pushed back due to the coronavirus pandemic and has been earmarked for December 19 at the Allegiant Stadium, the new home of the Las Vegas Raiders. 

Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s manager, has insisted it will still go ahead this year, but Fury has claimed he was informed it was being moved to next year, which he has refused to accept.

“They tried to change the date again into next year,” Fury told The Athletic. “I’ve been training. I’m ready. When they tried moving off December 19 and pushing to next year, enough was enough. I’ve moved on.”

One of the problems is that the figures for guaranteed purses in the contract, which was drawn up in a pre-Covid world, are impossible to reach without a large crowd and site fee. Warren has insisted that Fury, who has been in training since returning from America in February, must box this year for his own mental well-being.

Speaking on BT Sport on Saturday during the Liam Williams-Andrew Robinson telecast, Warren said: “Tyson has been training solidly since February and he wants to fight this year.

“My concern is Tyson’s welfare, well-being and I will deliver what he wants. So he will fight this year, whatever happens. Contractual commitments are what they are, but contracts don’t go on forever. So. if the fight cannot be delivered during the contractual period, Tyson will move on and maybe revisit it another time. 

“What matters to me and the people around him is doing what Tyson wants to do.” 

The plan is to use the blueprint the Albert Hall has drawn up for a series of Christmas concerts to allow a crowd of up to 3,000 to attend. 

The show at the Albert Hall would also feature the intriguing clash between British light-heavyweights Anthony Yarde and Lyndon Arthur. 

It would be the first time that a world heavyweight title fight has taken place at the Albert Hall, which is British boxing’s most historic venue. However, several world heavyweight champions have boxed there, including Primo Carnera, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Herbie Hide and Tommy Burns, who lost the title to Jack Johnson in 1908 and had his final fight at the Royal Albert Hall 12 years later. Muhammad Ali also boxed in exhibitions bouts twice at the hall, in 1971 and 1979.

An outline agreement has already been made for terms for a Fury-Joshua fight. Warren and Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, had been due to meet last week to discuss a series of fights, although the meeting was called off after Hearn tested positive for Covid-19.

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for Boxing Scene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.