Frank Warren and his Queensberry Promotions empire are right at the summit of boxing’s heavyweight division right now with Tyson Fury leading the way – and they might be there for a long while yet.
Warren of course promotes Fury, who will lock horns with Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 in a blockbuster which should crown the sport’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.
The promotional giant has successfully guided ‘The Gypsy King’s’ comeback from mental health issues and huge weight gain to the top of the mountain again.
Fury is the jewel in Queensberry’s crown right now, and Warren says business is going ‘gangbusters’. He also revealed that there is a potential successor to Fury, reading and waiting.
He told Jake Humphrey’s High Performance Podcast: “Everything goes in cycles, you have your ups and downs, at the moment we’re flying, we’re gangbusters – we’re doing these big shows. We’re the ones who are pulling them together.
Frank Warren on heavyweights
“The heavyweight division, from a very short space of time when Tyson came back, I said that we would wind up with the strongest heavyweight situation. With the best heavyweight, which is Tyson, and bringing all these other guys through. We’ve brought some really good youngsters through, we’ve got guys in really good positions. And that’s where we are at.”
Talking of those youngsters, there is one in particular who Warren is tipping for enormous things – the impressive 19-year-old Moses Itauma (7-0 with 5 KOs). The excitement in the promoter’s voice when talking about Itauma is undeniable.
“We’ve got this young kid Moses Itauma, remember that name. I’m telling you, he’ll be the next big thing in the heavyweight division.”
Warren has enjoyed an incredible career as a promoter, so at the age of 71, why does he continue to show such passion for the sport and the business? The answer he says is simple.
“What I’m around most of the time is young people, they’re young fighters, and you get a buzz out of that.”
