Gloves dispute in world title fight will be resolved

REUTERS – The dispute over the gloves to be used in Saturday’s world heavyweight title fight between Ukrainian holder Wladimir Klitschko and Britain’s Tyson Fury will be resolved before Friday’s rules meeting, officials said.

Klitschko, unbeaten for 11 years and a hot favourite to retain his belts in Duesseldorf, has the right to choose the gloves for both fighters but Fury’s camp had protested that the ones sent to him were unsuitable, and hurt his thumb.

Another pair have been promised but the Briton threatened to cancel the fight if they were not delivered on time.

“On Friday the gloves that will fit will be here,” the German professional boxers’ association (BDB) chief Thomas Puetz told reporters on Wednesday.

“But should there be an attempt at the rules meeting to demand different gloves it will not be accepted by the BDB.”

Klitschko said the dispute was all part of Fury’s “mental war”, telling reporters: “There are rules and contracts that need to be adhered to”.

(Reporting by Steve Tongue; Editing by Ken Ferris)