29 October 2023 , 16:11
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Oleksandr Usyk has told Tyson Fury their undisputed showdown must take place this year - or not at all.
Fury and Usyk last month signed to fight in Saudi Arabia on December 23 to finally crown the greatest heavyweight of their generation. The bout was to be announced in the early hours of Sunday morning until Fury was dropped and almost beaten by former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
The Brit - and his Saudi backers - were ultimately saved from embarrassment by the judges who awarded him victory by the slimmest of split-decision margins. And as Fury tended to his wounded ego and a cut forehead, his team ruled out a return to the desert as soon as two days before Christmas only for Usyk to shut down their demands.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk faced off after the fight (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)"The fight is happening on December 23, we have it in the contract," he said. It's December 23 or never. "I want to finish my beautiful 20-year career and road with Tyson Fury. I need to fight him." Fury and Usyk required special dispensation from one of boxing's four governing bodies to ensure all four belts would be on the line.
That may not be the case if the fight is pushed back into next year. It could also delay their planned rematch which is contracted to take place by the middle of 2024. But Fury's promoter Frank Warren insists there is no chance the fight will take place in just under eight weeks.
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"It will go ahead but it will not be on December 23, it was crazy for some people to suggest that it could still go ahead then," he said. "He needs a break with his family, he needs to switch off and we will announce the date when we are ready. But the fight is signed and it will happen early in the new year, late January or February."