Wladimir Klitschko is getting ready for Tyson Fury. (Photo : REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer)
The World Boxing Association ordered a purse bid for a mammoth heavyweight title fight between 6-6 champion Wladimir Klitschko and 6-9 mandatory challenger Tyson Fury on Friday.
Representatives of both fighters have been negotiating for weeks but are seemingly making little progress.
The order could pressure the parties to make a deal before the deadline.
If the bid is eventually held, Klitschko, the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO champion, would be entitled to 80 percent of the winning purse offer, as the reigning champion with Fury getting 20 percent.
There is a good chance the fight will be held in the United Kingdon, according to promoter Frank Warren and Klitschko's American advisor Shelly Finkel. They said October 2015 is a possible date. .
Klitschko (64-3, 54 KOs), 39, has made 18 consecutive title defenses.
He ended the winning runs of Bryant Jennings (then 19-0) by unanimous deciosn, Kubrat Pulev (then 20-0) by knockout and Alexander Povotkin (then 26-0) by unanimous decision in three of his last four title defenses.
The 26-year-old Fury (24-0, 18 KOs) of England knocked out Dereck Chisora in the 10th-round in November to become a mandatory challenger. He later knocked out Christian Hammer in the eighth-round in February in a tune up before the title shot.
Fury said he is ready to dethrone the "old man" Klitschko, adding his time is up.
On the other hand, Klitschko is looking beyond the Fury fight and is targeting WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder to unify all the heavyweight titles.
Klitschko also wants the the WBC title because it's the belt that used to belong to his retired brother Vitali used to own.
The combatants have a combined height of 13 feet and 3 inches and will be the second biggest fight in terms of the size of the fighters to the tussle between 7-0 Russian Nikolay Valuev and 6-6 Jameel McCline of the US in January 2007.
