Queensberry Promotions posted this photo on social media showing the damage to Fury's face. Photo: Queensberry Promotions
Tyson Fury out of doubt Heavyweight unification bout with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk has been canceled after the «devastated» British boxer accidentally cut his right eye during sparring.
Bout worth 100 million pounds sterling, which was scheduled for February 17th fight in Riyadh, is likely to take place later this year.
Talks were underway on Friday evening over whether Usyk, who trains in Murcia, could Spain, still fight on February 17 against one of the mandatory challengers. , Croatian Flip Hrgovic. This will be resolved in the next 48 hours.
A photo showing a deep gash on Fury's eye, which required 15 stitches, and video of a sparring session at the Riyadh camp captured the moment Fury took an elbow to the face in the clinch from a shorter, stockier sparring partner.
Both boxers were wearing helmets. Moments later, Fury returned to his corner, feeling his eye. A member of Fury's camp told Telegraph Sport: «It was just a terrible event.»
‼️ Now footage has emerged showing Tyson Fury being cut with his elbow during sparring, causing the Oleksandr Usik fight to be postponed… pic.twitter.com/dDy3e0Cv4o
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 2, 2024
Fury said: “I’m absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such excellent shape. I feel sorry for everyone involved in this huge event and will be working hard to reschedule once the eye has healed. I can only apologize to everyone who was hurt, including my own team, Usyk's team, the undercard fighters, partners and fans, as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.»
He added on social media: “I can’t help but get injured during sparring, but I can say that Usyk had problems, I’m in fantastic shape. I will reschedule the meeting as soon as I can. 2024 will be an important year for the GK team.”
Usyk’s promoter, meanwhile, published a photo of a Ukrainian sparring match in Spain with the caption “Usyk right now” and a smiley face.
The Usyk-Fury fight, which would have unified the four heavyweight titles, was described by Fury as a «fight for the ages.» This will be the defining fight in the current era of heavyweights. Both boxers are undefeated.
Fury holds the World Boxing Council belt, which he won in 2020 by defeating American Deontay Wilder, a belt he has defended three times: against Wilder, Dillian Whyte and most recently against Dereck Chisora. Fury also held the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization titles in 2015 when he defeated then-lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Usyk, the former undisputed king of the heavyweight division, has moved into the blue streak. Usyk has since defended those titles twice, first against Joshua in Saudi Arabia and then against Daniel Dubois in Poland last summer.
The last time boxing had a unified and undisputed heavyweight champion was in 2000, when Lennox Lewis won all four titles after defeating Evander Holyfield.
Queensberry Promotions, who handled the fight, said: “This is clearly a huge disappointment after the work done by so many people to finally bring this historic event to the world. Once the doctors check Tyson's vision, we will have a better idea of the required recovery period. Once known, we will work diligently with all parties involved and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible.»
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