Tyson Fury finally stripped of The Ring Magazine heavyweight title after failing to schedule comeback bout

Fury has not fought since beating Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015

Tyson Fury is yet to schedule his comeback fight (Getty)

Tyson Fury has been stripped of The Ring Magazine’s heavyweight title after he failed to schedule his comeback bout by their January 31 deadline.

Fury won the belt – along with the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO titles – when he beat Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, in one of the all-time great British boxing performances on foreign soil.

However he has been absent from the ring for the last two years for a collection of reasons. In February 2015 he tested positive for a banned steroid for which he was handed a backdated two-year ban by UK Anti-Doping, while he has also struggled with depression.

Tyson Fury has been stripped of The Ring's heavyweight title (Getty)

Fury was stripped of all of his other belts during this absence, but had until now retained The Ring title, which is awarded by the prestigious American publication to the fighter that it recognises as the ‘lineal’ champion.

But after Fury failed to schedule a fight by their January 31 deadline, the belt is now vacant.

“The Ring Magazine would like to make it clear that this decision had not been taken lightly,” the publication said in a statement published on Thursday. “The Ring championship belt is the closest representation to a lineal champion in the sport today, and Tyson Fury was extremely proud to be part of our heavyweight history.

“We deeply regret separating from the lineal championship and we would hope that fans appreciate our reasons for giving Tyson every opportunity over the past two years. We wish our former champion the very best for the future and we will be happy to re-rank him when appropriate.”

Fury responded to the decision with a short message on Twitter, during which he thanked the publication for sticking with him during his absence from the sport.

“I would just like to thank The Ring Magazine for being so patient with me over the last few years,” he wrote. “This will be the first time since 1922 that The Ring Magazine will split from the heavyweight lineage.”

The magazine also announced that their heavyweight championship will not be on the line when Anthony Joshua fights Joseph Parker on March 31, with the IBF, WBA and WBO titles all on the line.

“Joshua and Parker are rated No. 1 and No. 3 by The Ring respectively,” the statement said.

“There have been occasions when a vacant Ring championship has been contested between No. 1- and No. 3-rated contenders. However, after careful consideration, we do not feel Joshua-Parker qualifies.

“At this time, The Ring ratings panel unanimously believe that Deontay Wilder is the second-best heavyweight in the world on merit.”

Deontay Wilder is ranked second in The Ring's heavyweight rankings (Getty)

The winner of the Joshua vs Parker bout is likely to meet Wilder in their next fight, with the undefeated American recently announcing plans to climb into the ring after the March showdown.

“I will get in the ring and go face to face with [Joshua],” Wilder said last week.

“It typifies the show as well, because people want to know what’s going to happen next. I am an unpredictable person, I do what people don’t expect me to do but I do things when it’s the right time for me to do them. You’ll see.”