Reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is now just one month away from finally stepping into the ring with long-time rival Deontay Wilder for the third time.
The coronavirus pandemic - combined with Fury's own bout of the illness - has seen several postponements of a fight that was first planned to take place in July 2020 - a few months after the Gypsy King had dethroned Wilder for his WBC crown.
By the time the pair meet at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 9, both will have been out of the ring for almost 20 months. Now 33 years of age, Fury has revealed that he plans to make up for this prolonged period of inactivity by fighting a staggering five times before the end of 2022.
Speaking at a press event on Wednesday ahead of his trilogy fight with Wilder, the Brit outlined his intended schedule moving forward.
"I've got my bucket list in order," insisted Fury, per the Daily Mail. "It reads like this:
1. Wilder, Las Vegas, October 9
2. Dillian Whyte, homecoming fight in December, probably under the roof of Cardiff's Principality Stadium
3. Anthony Joshua, Saudi Arabia, March
4. Joshua rematch, Wembley Stadium, next summer
5. Derek Chisora, maybe Cardiff again, next winter
"No problem with any of these bums...Yes, bums. That's what I call them in comparison to myself, the best fighter of all time," declared Fury, who indicated that he would retire as the undisputed heavyweight champion after winning all five clashes.
It's an ambitious schedule, to say the least. After years of negotiations, we've yet to see one meeting between Fury and Joshua. To suggest that we might see a pair of bouts involving the two British superstars in the space of just a few months seems unlikely.
Speaking to the BT Sport YouTube channel, though, Fury reiterated that he sees Joshua as an easy fight.
"Joshua is just a body-builder while I'm the best heavyweight in the world, the better athlete, the most devastating puncher, the more flamboyant personality, the most handsome. He loses big, twice!"
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To even reach that point, according to Fury's timeline, the undefeated star would need to defeat both Wilder and countryman Dillian Whyte before the end of this year.
The notion that Fury could end his career next year after winning all five clashes seems a considerable stretch. However, Fury has proved the doubters wrong before - and fully intends to do so again.