Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk

Last updated
Ring of Fire
Fury vs Uysk.jpeg
Date18 May 2024
Venue Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Title(s) on the line WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring and Lineal undisputed heavyweight titles
Tale of the tape
Boxer Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk
Nickname The Gypsy King The Cat
Hometown Manchester, England Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine
Pre-fight record 34–0–1 (24 KO) 21–0 (14 KO)
Age 35 37
Height 6 ft 9 in (206 cm) 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Style Orthodox Southpaw
Recognition WBC and Lineal heavyweight champion WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring heavyweight champion
The Ring No. 3 ranked pound for pound fighter
2-division world champion

Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, billed as Ring of Fire, is an upcoming heavyweight professional boxing match contested between English WBC and Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Ukrainian WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship. The bout was scheduled to take place on 17 February 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, however, it was postponed due to a facial injury sustained by Fury in training. The bout was rescheduled the following day, and is set to take place on 18 May 2024 at the same venue.

Contents

Background and build up

The fight will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000, as well as the first in the four-belt era.

In October 2023, it was rumored that Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk would take place on 23 December in Saudi Arabia. It was also reported that Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder would serve as the co-feature. [1]

On 25 October, Fury and Usyk took it to social media to announce that they had signed for a bout, with a date of 23 December being reported but not officially announced. [2] On 28 October however, after Fury fought and defeated former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, he demanded that the bout with Usyk must be postponed because of injuries he sustained in the fight, despite Usyk stating that they are contracted for 23 December. [3] On 29 October, it was announced that the bout would take place in early 2024. [4]

On 16 November, the bout was officially announced to take place on 17 February 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a launch press conference in London. [5] The fight was officially postponed on February 2, 2024, with the idea of rescheduling for 2024 once a doctor could determine the recovery time for a cut sustained by Tyson Fury in training. Fury's promoter Queensberry Promotions confirmed the injury. [6] The whole card was rescheduled for 18th of May 2024, the decision was made quickly by the event's organizer in Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh. [7]

Card

Weight classvsMethodRoundTimeNotes
Main Card (PPV)
Heavyweight Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk – (12) Note 1
Cruiserweight Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis – (12) Note 2
Super Featherweight Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace – (12) Note 3
Heavyweight Agit Kabayel vs. Frank Sanchez – (TBA)
Cruiserweight Sergey Kovalev vs.Robin Sirwan Safar– (10)
Lightweight Mark Chamberlainvs.Joshua Oluwaseum Wahab– (10)
Preliminary Card
Heavyweight Moses Itauma vs.Ilja Mezencev– (8)
Crusierweight David Nyika vs.Michael Seitz– (8)
Featherweight Isaac Lowe vs.Hasibullah Ahmadi– (8)

^Note 1 For WBA (Super), WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO The Ring and Lineal heavyweight titles
^Note 2 For IBF Cruiserweight title
^Note 3 For IBF and IBO Super Featherweight titles

Broadcasters

DAZN PPV will cover the fight globally. In UK and Ireland, the fight will be aired live on both PPV's Sky and TNT Sports Box Office channels. In Ukraine, the fight will be streamed live on MEGOGO. In USA, the fight will streamed live via ESPN+ PPV.

Related Research Articles

In boxing, the undisputed champion of a weight class is the boxer who simultaneously holds world titles from all recognized major organisations by each other and the International Boxing Hall of Fame. There are currently four major sanctioning bodies: WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO. There were many undisputed champions before the number of major sanctioning bodies recognizing each other increased to four in 2007, but there have only been 19 boxers to hold all four titles simultaneously.

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Tyson Luke Fury is a British professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title since 2020. Previously, he held the unified heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016, and the Ring magazine title twice between 2015 and 2022. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title during his first reign as champion. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British title twice between 2011 and 2015; the European title from 2014 to 2015; and the Commonwealth title from 2011 to 2012.

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References

  1. Ellis, Jordan (23 October 2023). "'They want a mega card' – Anthony Joshua claims he could fight Deontay Wilder on same night as Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk in April". talkSport.
  2. Sessions, George (25 October 2023). "Tyson Fury reveals December date for Oleksandr Usyk heavyweight title fight". The Independent .
  3. Majendie, Matt (30 October 2023). "Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk showdown DELAYED after punishing Francis Ngannou fight". Evening Standard .
  4. Broadbent, Rick (29 October 2023). "Tyson Fury fight with Oleksandr Usyk delayed until 2024". The Times .
  5. Pattle, Alex (16 November 2023). "Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk date finally confirmed as historic title fight looms". The Independent .
  6. "Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight title fight off after Briton sustains cut". bbc.co.uk. 2 February 2024.
  7. "Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk rescheduled for 18 May with huge penalty for a withdrawal". metro.co.uk. 3 February 2024.