Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are likely to fight not once, but twice, for heavyweight supremacy.
The deal for the undisputed heavyweight championship fight, which will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contains a two-way rematch clause that the loser of the matchup can trigger for a return bout, sources told ESPN.
The tentative date for Fury-Usyk is Dec. 23, sources said, though the bout could land in January depending on what transpires when Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) fights former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 in Riyadh.
“It is the biggest fight in boxing,” said Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Fury, one of boxing’s top stars, enters the ring with his WBC belt, while Usyk will put his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line. But as is usually the case in boxing, it will be difficult for either man to hold all four titles for long due to obligations with four different sanctioning bodies.
A rotation system for unified champions and the IBF is due next after Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) fulfilled his WBA mandatory defense with a ninth-round KO of Daniel Dubois in August in Wroclaw, Poland.
The IBF sent a letter to involved parties last week that stipulated the winner of Fury-Usyk must make a mandatory defense with no intervening bouts, and that the organization will not grant exceptions.
