Tommy Fury calls out Conor McGregor as he targets epic ring return following hand injury against KSI last year… but there is one thing standing in the way of the Irishman accepting

Tommy Fury has challenged Conor McGregor to a boxing bout – but there is a major barrier stopping the Irishman from accepting. 

Fury, 24, is targeting a grandstand return to action after he injured his hand in his controversial majority decision win over YouTuber KSI in October. 

While he is still taking time out, he has thrown down the gauntlet to McGregor early on. 

‘I’m looking to get this [injury] out the way, nice and recovered,’ Fury told DAZN Boxing. 

‘I’ve seen that Jake Paul is fighting Mike Tyson, I mean why not me and McGregor next? I’ve got a comeback fight and I’d like him for my return so McGregor, get in touch.’

However, there is a major roadblock which would prevent McGregor from accepting his call

Paul is indeed fighting Tyson. The YouTuber-turned-boxer will face the former undisputed heavyweight champion, 58, in Dallas on July 20, live on Netflix. 

That has been bombastically dubbed the ‘biggest fight of the 21st century’, but Fury will struggle to get his dream punch-up. 

McGregor has a lucrative deal with the UFC and has a plan for this year, including fights with Michael Chandler, Nate Diaz, and even Manny Pacquiao in the boxing ring. 

He was excused from his UFC obligations for his boxing bust-up with Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017, but that was a titanic event. 

He likely won’t be able to pursue challenges outside the UFC until his deal is up.

Notorious inked a five-year UFC deal back in 2018, but its expiration may have been suspended by a year as he was ineligible to compete for most of 2023 after dropping out of the USADA testing pool. 

It is understood, as per the Daily Mirror, that his UFC contract has two fights left on it. 

If Fury did manage to secure a match against him, it would be a brutal test of his credentials.

McGregor still has a contract with the UFC and it is understood that that has two fights left 

Fury beat KSI in October and is unbeaten in his 10 professional fights so far, with four knockouts

He pointed to how Jake Paul will fight Mike Tyson as an example of why he should fight McGregor

Fury has won all 10 of his professional bouts so far but McGregor is a former featherweight and lightweight UFC champion, having been champion in both weight classes at the same time.   

However, McGregor’s last two fights were against Dustin Poirier in 2021, both of which he lost.