TYSON FURY faces Oleksandr Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight title clash since 1999 – and the action takes place on SATURDAY!
Fury suffered a nasty cut above his right eye during sparring earlier this month and saw his clash with Usyk on February 17 go up in smoke as a result.
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Usyk revealed he missed the birth of his daughter earlier this year to focus on the Fury training camp, but now he needs to refocus on a new date.
Fury holds the WBC title in boxing’s glamor division, while Usyk holds 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 victory over Anthony Joshua in August 2022.
Fury overcame boxing newcomer and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou last October, when he was impressively knocked down before winning the fight on points.
And Fury’s latest sparring fight with heavyweight Agron Smakici, which saw an 11-point cut open below his eyebrow, will be another confidence booster for Usyk.
The Ukrainian is aiming to become the first man in history to win undisputed titles at both cruiserweight and heavyweight – and is just one win away.
A victory for Fury, on the other hand, would kick off an all-British mega fight with Anthony Joshua, who faces Ngannou himself on March 8th.
Who are your coaches?
Fury once again prepared for the fight with longtime trainer SugarHill Steward.
The pair teamed up for the first time for his second fight against Deontay Wilder in 2020, following the Brit’s split from Ben Davison.
Steward now lives in Morecambe to train Fury in the city rather than having to travel to the US for his training camps.
The former police officer and chef is also the nephew of Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward and has worked with the likes of Charles Martin at his uncle’s Kronk Gym.
Steward recently parted ways with undefeated British light heavyweight Ben Whittaker after training him since 2022.
Meanwhile, Usyk is trained by Anatoly Lomachenko, father of fellow Ukrainian fighter Fet.
He first teamed up with Lomachenko in 2017 after parting ways with former coach James Ali Bashir.
Lomachenko is the former Coach of the Year and also trains his son at the same gym in Oxnard, California.
Fet is the current IBF and IBO lightweight world champion after beating George Kambosos Jr by TKO last weekend.
Which belts are at stake?
The first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis will be crowned on Saturday.
It will also be the first time that a fighter has won every heavyweight title in the four-belt era.
Fury’s WBC title is on the line, while Usyk defends his IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA (Super) belts.
When is Fury vs Usyk?
- Fury vs Usyk will now take place in Saturday, May 18th 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 withdrawals this time, a fee of £7.9m will be paid to the opposing fighter.
- The fight will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Expect the main event walks to start at around 11pm BST, with the main card likely to start at 6pm BST.
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What happened in Fury’s last fight?
The Gypsy King last fought in October as he battled to a controversial split decision victory over Francis Ngannou.
He was still knocked down by a left hook from the former UFC champion in the third round.
Ngannou was making his professional boxing debut and has since been knocked out by Joshua in his second fight.
Fortunately for Fury, his WBC world title was not on the line.
Instead, he won the WBC commemorative belt in Riyadh as he moved to 34-0-1 with the points victory.
What happened in Usyk’s last fight?
Usyk’s previous fight was also controversial, although he won more convincingly.
The Cat was leading on the scorecards before securing a ninth-round knockout victory over Daniel Dubois in Poland last August.
His shutout was the 14th of his professional career, bringing his record to 21-0.
However, Usyk had to survive being hit by a controversial low blow.
He was left shaking in agony and lay on the ground for almost four minutes after being caught just below the waist line by Dubois.
When is the weigh-in?
- Weighing takes place on the day Friday, May 17th.
- It is scheduled to start 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 submitted, and judges will likely be asked this weekend.
Fury showed his durability by landing strong blows against Wilder and Ngannou, but it’s unclear whether this weakened his chin enough for Usyk to capitalize.
The Ukrainian has never been taken down as a professional, but he has been much less prolific in finishing fights since moving up to heavyweight.
The 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 streamed live?
- Fury vs Usyk will be broadcast on THREE channels here in the UK.
- You can watch the clash at the TNT Sports Box Office, Sky Sports Box Office and at DAZN PPV.
- The price for the event has not yet been confirmed.
- You can stream the action from the TNT Sports Box Office app, the Sky Sports Box Office app or the DAZN application, all available on your cell phone, tablet and Smart TV.
Fury vs Usyk full card
Here are all the confirmed fights that will take place on the undercard:
- Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk – WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF undisputed heavyweight titles
- Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis – vacant IBF cruiserweight title
- Joe Cordina vs Anthony Cacace – IBF super featherweight title
- Agit Kabayel x Frank Sanchez
- Sergey Kovalev x Robin Sirwan Safar
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab
- Moses Itaúma x Ilja Mezencev
- David Nyika x Michael Seitz
- Isaac Lowe x Hasibullah Ahmadi
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What was said?
“I just smiled,” Usyk he said upon hearing the news of the postponement.
“And I said ‘OK – I’m going to finish my training and I’m going to do my job stretching my back.’
“Tyson. Hi, my brother. Don’t be afraid. I won’t leave you alone.
“I’m still happy – things happen, that’s life,” he said.
“I’m very happy because now I’m going to Ukraine. I see my two daughters and my wife. I go to my church and pray. I rest for a while and go back to my camp.”
Fury said of the postponement: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in excellent condition.
“I feel bad for everyone involved in this great event and will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologize to everyone affected, including my own team, Team Usyk, the fighters on the undercard, partners and fans, as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
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