DERECK CHISORA is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in October – five months after the fight was due to take place.
The heavyweight headliner was due to be staged at the O2 Arena in May, until the coronavirus pandemic KO’d those plans.
Dereck Chisora will face Oleksandr Usyk in OctoberCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd
Promoter Eddie Hearn pondered staging the fight at his ‘Fight Camp’ with a host of shows taking place behind closed doors in the garden of his Matchroom HQ in Essex.
But Hearn has said he wants Chisora, 36, to face Usyk, 33, in front of a crowd and would be willing to wait until he could do so, even with a limited ticket allocation.
And with Usyk, the WBO mandatory challenger, ready to scupper an undisputed title decider between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, he first has to get past Chisora.
He told iFL TV: “You also have the issue of Oleksandr Usyk, who is going to fight Dereck Chisora probably in October.
“So that’s AJ’s mandatory, and so we may even get to a situation where it isn’t even an undisputed fight.
“I will do everything I can to try and make it an undisputed, while also respecting people’s rights.
“Usyk didn’t allow the Pulev fight for the IBF. The IBF said ‘that’s next,’ and he took it on the chin.”
WBA, IBF and WBO champion Joshua, 30, and WBC king Fury, 31, have both verbally agreed to a two-fight deal in 2021.
But AJ first has to beat IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev, 39.
And the unbeaten Fury is contracted to an immediate rematch with 34-year-old Deontay Wilder.
Even then, Usyk is next in line for Joshua’s WBO belt and Dillian Whyte has been promised a shot at the WBC strap by February 2021.
It leaves Hearn fearing a Battle of Britain between Joshua and Fury could either be backdated, or either face relinquishing a title.
He added: “He [Usyk] is supposed to fight the winner [of Joshua vs. Pulev].
“So unless you’ve got a plan for Oleksandr Usyk, he’s got to fight the winner.
“He wants to fight for the world heavyweight title.”
Eddie Hearn hints Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury PPV price will be biggest yet at £29.95 but slams claims it’ll cost almost £50
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
