Tommy Fury has a new opponent for what is now an exhibition match.

Meanwhile, it is neither fight nor flight for Paul Bamba who is momentarily stranded in Dubai.

The previously scheduled Fury-Bamba will no longer procced, nor will Bamba any long remain on Sunday’s DAZN Pay-Per-View event (also available on PPV.com) from Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai. Manchester’s Fury will now face Rolly Lambert, a Cameroonian based out of Dubai who agreed to step in on less than 24 hours’ notice.

Per event promoter Global Titans, Fury-Lambert will be contested as a six-round exhibition, with no winner to be determined. Lambert (15-1-1, 12KOs) has won thirteen straight following a 2-1-1 career start but is better known as a frequent sparring partner for current heavyweight contender Martin Bakole.  

As previously reported by krikya360.com, the previously scheduled Fury-Bamba bout was mired in controversy due to what turned out to be two separate contracted weights for their scheduled six-round affair.

Bamba (5-2, 4KOs) weighed 174.6 pounds, well within the 175-pound limit to which he agreed per a bout agreement signed by the New York-based Boricua on September 16. Fury (8-0, 4KOs) acknowledged in a recent video that the agreement he signed stipulated a higher weight, though still a dispute over whether he actually made the contracted limit.

“I just want to come in here and clear a few things up. One contract was given to Paul Bamba and one was given to myself,” Fury said in a video through his Instagram channel. “The weight in my contract, I made yesterday. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve done my job. I made weight.

“I’ve done my job. Paul Bamba does not want to fight. He never did. I’m here in Dubai. I’ve got a new opponent and I’m ready to go.”

Fury weighed 181 ½ pounds, or 83 kilograms. In challenging the final weight limit, Global Titans insisted to Bamba and his team that the contracted limit was 81kg (178 ½ pounds), which would still leave Fury above the limit.

Neither version is taken as the real story by the affected party.

“My man, you’re a liar and a cheat,” Bamba tweeted in response to Fury’s statement. “I’ll come to the UK, your daddy knows.”

Bamba was still prepared to go through with the fight, even despite the lack of cooperation from Global Events. However, his team both on site and from afar were against his giving away that much of a physical advantage to Fury, already a favorite to win even in a fair fight. 

Wherever is Bamba’s next destination, it’s not home for the moment.

Sarah Fina, Bamba’s agent, informed krikya360.com that Global Titans canceled the outgoing flights for Bamba and his immediate team on site. Plans are being made to secure travel on their own. Bamba was willing to go through with the fight on the condition that Fury—the younger brother of lineal/WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23KOs)—agree to a same-day rehydration clause.

Financial compensation was also expected, though secondary to Bamba’s health.

Global Titans was unwilling to entertain any idea outside of throwing money at the problem, even telling Fina to “fuck off” and to “shut up and go to sleep” as efforts were made from abroad to reach a fair resolution. Bamba also revealed that Global Titans accused him of exhibiting diva-like behavior for refusing to move forward with the fight over a difference of “just a few pounds,” with the company not at all taking ownership of presenting the fighters with separate weight stipulations.

The rest of the show proceeds as scheduled. Headlining the event, Hall of Fame former five division champion Floyd Mayweather (50-0, 27KOs) faces social media influencer Deji in an exhibition bout.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox