Hughie Fury - I'll take on Joseph Parker or Andy Ruiz Jr

Hughie Fury, the cousin of former heavyweight champion Tyson, has announced he is ready to take on the winner of the Joseph Parker v Andy Ruiz Jr title fight. Photo / Twitter.

Hughie Fury, the cousin of former heavyweight champion Tyson, has announced he is ready to take on the winner of the Joseph Parker v Andy Ruiz Jr title fight.

The 22-year-old Hughie Fury, the son of Tyson's trainer Peter, is ranked fifth by the WBO and is likely to be the first cab off the rank in terms of a mandatory challenger for either Kiwi Parker or Mexican Ruiz Jr. Parker takes on Ruiz Jr at Auckland's Vector Arena on Saturday.

The undefeated Hughie has fought 20 times as a professional since turning to the paid ranks in 2013. The decision by fellow Briton David Haye (ranked fourth best heavyweight by the WBO) to fight cruiserweight champion Tony Bellow in a big-money fight has opened the way for Fury's chance.

Should Parker beat Ruiz Jr, the 24-year-old south Aucklander is likely to take a couple of months off after a busy year, which means a potential fight against Fury could happen in March or April next year.

"[WBC champion Deontay] Wilder or winner or Parker Ruiz," Fury wrote in a recent tweet.

"Their (sic) my next fights don't care what first. Their (sic) will be hopefully announcing the fight this month."

Parker is also the current IBF mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua's title. Joshua, who will fight American Eric Molina in London on Saturday, is likely to fight Wladimir Klitschko (ranked second by the WBO) in March or April.

The perfect scenario for Parker would be a victory over Ruiz Jr and then a victory over Fury in England, a fight which would build his profile there ahead of a potential blockbusting showdown with Joshua.

Parker's trainer Kevin Barry recently expressed his disappointment at Haye taking potentially the easier option in fighting fellow Englishman Bellew in what will be a lucrative domestic scrap. The WBO had made Haye the mandatory challenger to the winner of Parker v Ruiz Jr.

"If we win the fight with Andy Ruiz, it's disappointing because I've always liked David Haye's style for Joe," Barry said. "He's a cruiserweight moved up to heavyweight - he's not a big heavyweight."

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Current WBO Rankings
Champion: Vacant
1. Joseph Parker
2. Wladimir Klitschko
3. Andy Ruiz Jr
4. David Haye
5. Hughie Fury