Tyson Fury will now fight Oleksandr Usyk on May 18. Photo: PA/Zac Goodwin
Tyson Fury fights Alexander for the world heavyweight title. Usyk's clash, also known as the Ring of Fire, has been rescheduled for May 18.
The much-hyped meeting was originally due to take place in Saudi Arabia in February but was postponed after the Briton suffered an injury. “strange cut” above eye in training.
Queensbury Promotions said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter: “The undisputed heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been rescheduled for May 18.” . in Riyadh.”
Fury required medical attention after being injured during sparring.
This is the second time his scheduled fight with Usyk has been postponed after the first fight in December did not take place.
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Why was the fight moved?
The fight was moved from its original date of February 17 to May 18 after Fury received a cut above the eye during sparring, caused by Agron Smakichi's elbow.
Smakichi tells the story of how the terrible cut opened. over Fury's eye, delaying the certainty of the confrontation.
“It was a strange day. For two weeks I sparred with him [Fury], we sparred hard in the evenings, but that day it was around noon. There was a lot of wrestling during the sparring and I also do professional wrestling so I had some good moments where I held him in the wrong positions. He joked, as always, and we teased
each other from the inside.”
Leaked footage of their last sparring together showed the cut was caused by an elbow, but Smakichi insists it was accidental. “When you see the punch, I know I hit a clean punch, but the way he held my head, he was pulling my head forward towards him. So maybe that's why the elbow went away too. But it was primarily a blow. It was a terrible accident.”
What's at stake?
Boxing will once again have an undisputed heavyweight champion after what Fury himself called “a fight for the ages.”
Fury holds the WBC belt, which he won in 2020 by defeating Deontay Wilder. He has defended the belt three times: against Wilder, Dillian Whyte and most recently Dereck Chisora.
Usyk holds the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles after defeating Anthony Joshua in 2021. He defended these titles twice: against Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Both Fury and Usyk have not yet lost a single defeat in their professional boxing careers. The winner will become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
The last time boxing had a unified and undisputed heavyweight champion was 2000, when Lennox Lewis held all four titles.
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When will the Fury vs. Usik fight take place?
The undisputed heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024. The fight was originally scheduled for February 17.
Where will the fight take place?
The fight will take place in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
What are they saying?
The fight in Riyadh, originally proposed for December 23rd, and then scheduled for February 17, was rescheduled for May 18 in the Saudi city.
Usyk told reporters at a press conference at his training camp in eastern Spain. Coast says he has sacrificed a lot to prepare for the fight and Fury, whose cut in sparring forced the fight to be postponed, must take the fight more seriously.
“I sacrificed all the days we spent with family; New Year, Christmas, my birthday, my son’s birthday, my second son’s birthday and, of course, the birth of my daughter,” he said.
Usyk said that he will now spend two or three days. a few days at home to hug his daughter and be with his wife before returning to training.
He said he was sparring in the ring when he was told of the latest postponement and questioned Fury's training methods.
“I'm not judging anyone, but the point is that we need to take this more seriously. This is a very important and long-awaited fight for the whole world,” he said. “High-level fighters take certain precautions: Typically, when sparring, you use headgear and large gloves, such as 20-ounce gloves.
“You put Vaseline on your sparring partners gloves, you put Vaseline on your mask, on your eyebrows to avoid cuts, to avoid any injuries. Because you treat this differently than a professional, you are jeopardizing the entire event and being disrespectful to the participants.” Fury said he had never been cut before while sparring before a big fight.
“You're going to get smashed to pieces, you sausage.”
At a press conference confirming the previous February date, Fury said of Usyk:
“I'm going to arrest him. Sausage. Ugly little man. Rabbit. Run, rabbit, run, rabbit, run, run, run. Do you know what will happen? You will be broken into pieces, sausage. You're fighting the best British heavyweight that ever lived.
“You beat the others, but you didn't beat Tyson Fury, you sausage. You can never beat me. If you beat me in your sleep, you better wake up and apologize. I stole this from Muhammad Ali, I'm sorry.
“When you sleep at night, you ugly man, you will think about me for the next eight weeks. I'm going to break your face. You ugly little man.”
“The man who wears the earring can never beat Tyson Fury.”
Grash talk with the Briton was in full swing even before Fury was injured. even aiming at the enemy's earrings.
“I know he can’t beat me, I know he can’t. A man who wears an earring can never beat Tyson Fury. No chance, no one who wears earrings can defeat him.”
Usyk replied:
“I can explain about the earrings. This is a Ukrainian warrior, a Cossack. These were the people who defended my country from our enemies for many years. This is just proof of my Cossack heritage.
Fury spoke live on DAZN at Anthony Joshua's victory over Francis Ngannou and said:
“Yes, I am recovering well, the cut is healing very well. I'm fit and looking forward to getting into camp.
How can I watch it in the UK?
The action is shown live on TNT Sports Box Office and Sky. Sports Box Office.
Who's on the undercard?
Jai Opetaya will rematch Mairis Briedis, whom he defeated to become the world heavyweight champion. They will fight for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
Joe Cordina will make the second defense of his IBF super lightweight crown and take on IBO Belfast world champion Anthony Cacace.
German Heavyweight Agit Kabayel will meet Cuban boxer Frank Sanchez, and Sergey Kovalev will fight Robin Sirwan Safar in the heavyweight division.
British Mark Chamberlain will meet Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab in the lightweight division.
Isaac Lowe, who is Tyson Fury's cousin will face Hasibullah Ahmadi at featherweight.
David Nyika, a 6ft 8in Kiwi heavyweight, will take on Michael Seitz, while heavyweight Moses Ithauma will face Ilya Mezentsev.
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