The boxing world is getting the fight it has been waiting for many years. The two heavyweight world champions, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, have agreed on a direct duel, making Usyk vs Fury a reality. Before the mega fight actually takes place, however, there are still a few hurdles to be cleared.
Let’s catch up with all the latest about this mega bout in the passage below.
Usyk vs Fury is On!
Top Rank boss, promoter Bob Arum, has said the heavyweight world champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have agreed to fight each other – without any breakouts in between!
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have agreed to fight each other next. pic.twitter.com/oziKEuPS7M
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) December 20, 2022
Bob Arum, who is co-marketing Tyson Fury with Frank Warren, head of Queensberry Promotion, is still working out the details for a match between the two for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC, and WBA Super Champion titles.
“The two fighters have agreed to fight each other next,”
Bob Arum told Sky Sports in an interview.
“With Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, we’re dealing with two adults who don’t talk rubbish. Oleksandr Usyk is a good friend of mine, he is very intelligent, and Tyson Fury is Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect.”
“Both want the fight, and so there will be very little, if any, fooling around. So we will be able to make this fight happen. I’m very, very confident. As I said, the boxers have both agreed to fight each other next without bouts.”
Fury vs Usyk Banter – What Happened A Little Earlier?
When Oleksandr Usyk, the unified WBO, WBA, IBO, and IBF heavyweight champion of Ukraine, and the WBC titlist Tyson Fury came face to face in the corner of the ring after the end of the Fury vs Chisora Trilogy fight, and Fury insulted the Ukrainian with a litany of threats and insults, many of the people who heard it (also on TV) thought that it was probably better that Usyk had not understood everything that Fury was verbally throwing at him.
Boxing fans got a preview of the different personalities immediately after Fury’s dominant stop against Derek Chisora earlier this month at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. During their impromptu in-ring duel, Fury unleashed at the Ukrainian and hurled slur after slur while Usyk remained calm and stony.
In a recent interview, Usyk revealed that Fury’s incessant ‘trash talk,’ which has included lurid allegations of Usyk’s steroid use, doesn’t bother him much.
“Someone says it might be better not to understand the lies Fury keeps trumpeting,”
Usyk said in a video posted to his YouTube channel ‘USYK17’.
“But I get whatever he says translated word for word. But I’m not really interested in it.”
“This trash talking doesn’t affect my training or motivate me,”
Usyk continued.
“Fury throws insults at me, but I know what I have to do in the ring. When I pay attention to someone trying to insult me, I end up just feeding my anger. But anger does not help in fighting, otherwise it only worsens the condition.”
Usyk vs Fury Fight Date
Boxing fans around the world are desperate to know when this mega bout is really going to happen. Fortunately, we know it’s going to happen within the first quarter of the next year. But unfortunately, not single date has been confirmed yet.
Here’s what we have so far from the stakeholders on exact date of the Usyk vs Fury bout.
What Arum Says About Fight Date?
“Now the question is what date and place where the fight will take place,”
Arum said.
“But that fight is definitely going to happen and it’s going to happen in the first four months of next year.”
What Frank Warren Says About It?
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT:
“Both fighters absolutely want it. The managers and promoters all want it, so we’re just getting it together and working out where we’re gonna put it on – that’s really the situation. It’s gotta go on by March and so we’ve gotta all move quickly so over the next couple of weeks we will or we won’t get it sorted out. But everybody wants to do the fight, absolutely want to do it.”
What Klimas (Usyk’s Manager) Says About It?
Usyk’s manager Klimas recently told iD Boxing:
“Oleksandr said, ‘Let’s unify titles. Tyson, let’s fight. Then Tyson came back and he wants to dictate. Tyson said, let’s fight at the end of the year. And Oleksandr’s position was, ‘Look, I’ve been preparing for that fight with Joshua for a long time, I need to get recovery, I need to go back to my country. I can’t just jump from camp to camp. In that case, let’s do that fight in February.”
He carries on,
“Instead of waiting a couple of months, Tyson decided he wants to fight as a ‘keep busy’ fight. It’s fine, let him do it. On our side, everything is done. We agreed with the promoters, let’s put it together let’s move forwards. Right now it’s Tyson Fury’s decision.”
When asked about the expected fight date if Fury agrees for the fight, Klimas replied:
“No earlier than February 18, no later than March 4.”
So, this leaves us with three potential fight dates. Assuming the show happens on a Saturday as expected, it’s either February 18, February 25 or March 4.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury Fight Venue
Just like the date, venue is another thing to be sorted about this whole Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fiasco.
Arum has a couple of locations on the card for this super bout. Here’s what he said about the potential venue for the said fight:
“We’re already considering some lucrative offers from the Middle East, but there’s also an opportunity to promote the fight in England, at Wembley Stadium, with a crowd of 95,000.”
“Boxers have relatively short lives and money is very important. So if the money we were offered from the Middle East is real, that needs to be taken into account. Going back to Wembley and fighting in front of 95,000 people is absolutely heartbreaking. It would be crazy. It would be wonderful. It shouldn’t be long before a final decision is made. We will clarify everything. I hope maybe even by the end of the year.”
Is Oleksandr Usyk too Light and Small to Defeat Tyson Fury?
Former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has been adamant that Tyson Fury is his number one target since his second win over Anthony Joshua in September. However, southpaw Usyk keeps hearing that he might be the clear underdog in this fight – but that doesn’t bother him.
But Fury has also slowed down due to the rapid aging process. He no longer moves like the gazelle that Wladimir Klitschko defeated in 2015. Fury’s style now consists of landing single hits, followed by clinches over and over and leaning on the opponent, then pushing them down.
He’s boxing more like an anti-Superman now. However, for many fans, Tyson Fury is still the invincible Super Champion. But when you know how many times Tyson Fury was knocked down alone in the Wilder trilogy, then you have to think about how long this will last.
Final Word on Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury Super Fight
No matter when or where, Tyson Fury vs Usyk is always going to be one of the best bouts in boxing history with all the potential of making it to the acclaimed pedestal of all-time greatest fights ever. With so many stakes, so much pride, ego, skill, and willpower involved in this matchup, it’s most definitely going to be epic. So, rest assured, RDX Sports will cover it for you, whenever and wherever this historic bout takes place.
