A NEW date for Tyson Fury’s heavyweight showdown against Oleksandr Usyk has been confirmed.
The fight was meant to take place on February 17 in Saudi Arabia but was called off after Fury suffered a horror cut in sparring on Friday.
Fury, 35, admitted that he was “devasted” as well as insisting he was in “superb condition”.
He was caught by an elbow during his sparring session and needed stitche, with Usyk’s camp expecting him to be out for “several months”.
Anthony Joshua offered to step in and bring his fight with Francis Ngannou forward to fill the slot.
But a new date for MAY 18 has now been announce, three months after the original bout was set to happen.
READ MORE ON BOXING
Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh confirmed the new date for the fight during an appearance alongside Fury on a YouTube broadcast, which saw Oleksandr Usyk and his manager Egis Klimas join remotely.
He said: “I have delayed it for May 18, I guarantee for both of the fighters £10million if someone escapes from the fight.
“We will make the people around the world know if someone is scared.”
He also revealed that any £10million punishment payment will come from the fighter’s pocket – not from the Saudis.
Most read in Boxing
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
Fans flocked to social media to react to the news.
One posted: “Good! Let’s hope Fury shows up!”
A second commented: “Let’s gooooo!”
A third said: “Sooner than I expected.”
Alalshikh also insisted that Fury wanted to still fight this month but he would not let him as he did not want it to become a “circus”.
He added: “Tyson doesn’t want me to tell this secret.
“He wanted to fight on the 17th with the cut but I didn’t let him it would be a circus not a fight.
“We have a deadline with IBF and I don’t want a headache with them.”
Fury insisted that he was in fantastic shape before the cut and was confident of knocking Usyk out.
Will Tyson Fury really be ready for Usyk on May 18?
TYSON FURY and Oleksandr Usyk will now meet on May 18 after their undisputed fight was rescheduled following the Gypsy King’s horror cut in training.
It could mean Fury has just 17 DAYS to fully prepare for the mouthwatering clash.
Here, SunSport boxing expert Wally Downes Jr reveals whether the Brit will be fully prepared for the task at hand…
Fury insists he only needed 11 stitches on the gash over his right eye, promoter Frank Warren had earlier said 14, and it did look to be healing nicely when he appeared online to debate Usyk on Saturday evening.
Whichever it is, it makes this new scratch sound like a paper cut compared to the axe wound he suffered against Otto Wallin in 2019.
Doctors will try to ban Fury from any physical activity while the cut heals and then prescribe a very slow return to training and only when it is completely repaired will he be advised to spar.
However, trying to tell the 35-year-old Gypsy King what he can and cannot do might be a tall order for the little doctor charged with the task of policing the 6ft 9ins 20st maverick.
The maths suggests he might only have 17 days of sparring to prepare for the super-talented southpaw, who grabbed gold at London 2012 and became undisputed cruiserweight king.
And, while Fury is supposedly resting up and recovering from this latest set-back, Usyk will still be training his mind and body, doing practice rounds with giants and growing in confidence.
While Fury is sidelined, he will undoubtedly gain weight. He was as big as 22st just eight weeks out from his October scare against Francis Ngannou, so he still has not tamed his appetite.
And Fury fans will definitely worry that an enforced break, another stumbling block and another scar target for Usyk to aim his punches at, will all play into the 37-year-old Ukraine icon’s favour on May 18.
He said of the cancellation: “This is not a blessing in disguise, but I take God’s will as it comes.
“I was 100 per cent confident I was going to knock Usyk out. I was 100 per cent ready.
“Why would I not want to fight for the biggest payday of my life?”
The broadcast came to an abrupt end as Fury appeared to storm out and his camera went black.
Fury had brought up comments from Uysk’s manager Klimas who claimed he was a “coward”. Fury also believed that he called his wife Paris a “b****” as he shouted: “Never call me a coward again.
“I have had 35 professional fights in my life, I have been boxing 18 years, I’ve climbed off the canvas ten times against the biggest punchers in history to win.
“Never a coward, never backed down from any man in my life.
“If anyone calls my wife a b****, I’ll take their f****ing teeth out.”
Kilmas was mocking Fury by pointing at the camera while he was ranting.
He then bluntly responded: “I didn’t call your wife a b****.”
Fury then replied: “Well, I’ll apologise for that then because I thought you were talking about my wife – but never call me a coward.
“How can you call me a coward, you have never boxed in your life.”
The highly anticipated £100m Fight of the Century will see the unification of the boxing belts.
The Gyspy King and the Ukranian were originally supposed to battle in a Riyadh Rumble on December 23.
However, that fight was pulled after Fury’s lacklustre display in his split-decision victory against former UFC champion Ngannou last October.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
The fight is expected to be shown in the UK on three channels as Sky Sports, TNT Sports and DAZN have all purchased broadcasting rights.
The new date could leave Fury with only 17 days to fully train as his former cutman Jorge Capetillo thinks it will take 90 days for his injury to fully heal.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
