TYSON FURY faces Oleksandr Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight title clash since 1999 – and the action will unfold on SATURDAY!
Fury suffered a nasty gash above his right eye in sparring earlier this month and saw his clash with Usyk on February 17 go up in smoke as a result.
Usyk revealed he missed the birth of his daughter at the beginning of the year to focus on training camp for Fury, but now he has to refocus on a new date.
Fury holds the WBC title in boxing’s glamour division, while Usyk is in possession of the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine straps.
The pair have been on a collision course to fight for 18 months, following Usyk’s rematch win over Anthony Joshua in August 2022.
Fury only just overcame boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last October, as he was knocked down in stunning fashion before going on to win the bout on points.
And Fury’s latest scuffle in sparring with heavyweight Agron Smakici, which saw an 11-stitch cut open up below his eyebrow, will be another confidence booster for Usyk.
The Ukrainian is looking become the first man in history to win undisputed titles at both cruiserweight and heavyweight – and he’s just one win away.
A victory for Fury, on the other hand, would set up an all-British mega-bout with Anthony Joshua, who takes on Ngannou himself on March 8.
Who are their trainers?
Fury has once again prepared for the bout with long-time trainer SugarHill Steward.
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The pair first teamed up for his second fight against Deontay Wilder in 2020 following the Brit’s split from Ben Davison.
Steward now lives in Morecambe in order to train Fury in the town instead of having to travel to the USA for his training camps.
The former police officer and chef is also the nephew of Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward and previously worked with the likes of Charles Martin at his uncle’s Kronk Gym.
Steward recently split from unbeaten British light-heavyweight Ben Whittaker after coaching him since 2022.
Meanwhile, Usyk is trained by Anatoly Lomachenko, the father of fellow Ukrainian fighter Vasiliy.
He first teamed up with Lomachenko in 2017 after parting ways with former trainer James Ali Bashir.
Lomachenko is a former trainer of the year and also coaches his son out of the same gym in Oxnard, California.
Vasiliy is the current IBF and IBO world lightweight champion after beating George Kambosos Jr via technical knockout last weekend.
What belts are on the line?
The first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis will be crowned on Saturday.
It will also be the first time a fighter has held all the heavyweight titles in the four-belt era.
Fury’s WBC title is on the line, whilst Usyk is defending his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA (Super) belts.
When is Fury vs Usyk?
- Fury vs Usyk will now take place on Saturday, May 18 after the original date of February 17 was postponed.
- The Gyspy King has three months to recover from his injury, and if there are any more pull-outs this time around, a £7.9million fee will be paid to the opposing fighter.
- The fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Expect main event ring-walks to get going from around 11pm BST, with the main card likely to start from 6pm BST.
What happened in Fury’s last fight?
The Gypsy King last fought in October as he laboured to a controversial split decision victory over Francis Ngannou.
He was even knocked down by a left hook from the former UFC champion in the third round.
Ngannou had been making his professional boxing debut and has since been knocked out by Joshua in his second bout.
Fortunately for Fury, his WBC world title was not on the line.
Instead he claimed the WBC Commemorative Riyadh belt as he moved to 34-0-1 with the points win.
What happened in Usyk’s last fight?
Usyk’s previous fight was also not without controversy, although he won in more convincing fashion.
The Cat was leading on the scorecards before securing a ninth round KO victory over Daniel Dubois in Poland last August.
His stoppage was the 14th of his professional career to take his record to 21-0.
However, Usyk had to survive being floored by a controversial low blow.
He was left shaking in agony and stayed down for almost four minutes after being caught just below the belt line by Dubois.
When is the weigh-in?
- The weigh-in takes place on Friday, May 17.
- It is scheduled to get underway from 7pm BST.
SunSport prediction
Fury and Usyk have established themselves as the two best heavyweights on the planet in recent years.
Neither fighter has lost as a professional let alone been finished, with the judges likely to be required this weekend.
Fury has shown his durability by taking heavy blows against both Wilder and Ngannou, but it is unclear if these have weakened his chin enough for Usyk to capitalise.
The Ukrainian has never been knocked down as a pro but has been far less prolific at finishing fights since moving up to heavyweight.
His stoppage of Dubois is his only knockout victory in five fights since leaving the cruiserweight division.
SunSport prediction – Usyk on points
What channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
- Fury vs Usyk will be broadcast on THREE channels here in the UK.
- You can watch the clash on TNT Sports Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and on DAZN PPV.
- A price for the event has yet to be confirmed.
- You can stream the action from the TNT Sports Box Office app, Sky Sports Box Office app, or the DAZN app, all of which are available onto your mobile, tablet and Smart TV.
Fury vs Usyk full card
Here are all of the confirmed fights set to take place on the undercard:
- Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk – undisputed WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles
- Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis – vacant IBF cruiserweight title
- Joe Cordina vs Anthony Cacace – IBF super-featherweight title
- Agit Kabayel vs Frank Sanchez
- Sergey Kovalev vs Robin Sirwan Safar
- Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab
- Moses Itauma vs Ilja Mezencev
- David Nyika vs Michael Seitz
- Isaac Lowe vs Hasibullah Ahmadi
What has been said?
“I just smiled,” Usyk said upon hearing of the postponement news.
“And said ‘OK – I will finish my training and I will do my work stretching my back’.
“Tyson. Hi, my brother. Don’t be afraid. I will not leave you alone.
“I’m still happy – things happen, it’s life,” he said.
“I’m very happy because I now go to Ukraine. I see my two daughters and my wife. I go to my church and pray. A little bit of rest and back to my camp.”
Fury said of the postponement: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
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“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
