OLEKSANDR USYK already has a replacement lined up in case Tyson Fury pulls out of their Saudi straightener.
Usyk and Fury, 37 and 35 respectively, will throw down for all the heavyweight marbles next month in the division’s first undisputed bout in nearly 25 years.
The pair’s dust-up has fallen through THREE TIMES already, collapses which have prompted Team Usyk to draw up a contingency plan in mandatory IBF title challenger Filip Hrgovic in case the Riyadh Rumble crumbles again.
The Ukrainian’s promoter Alex Krassyuk told Boxing Scene: “Usyk has actually had a triple camp for this fight.
“He started in September for the fight to take place last December.
‘We showed up to the Ngannou fight to step in the ring to announce the fight for the undisputed.
“But his team jumped and said he didn’t look that good, so Usyk gave him some space to prepare at his camp in Saudi Arabia.
“We were then meant to fight on February 17, then we were rescheduled for May. Tyson Fury has withdrawn four times already from this fight.
“I’ve not got too much confidence in the rematch happening, by the way.
“If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to step inside the ring again?
“Theoretically he can, but we all know what happened in the rematch with Wladimir Klitschko.
“The IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic will be the replacement if [Fury] does it again.
“He is getting ready for Daniel Dubois on June 1, but instead he will have to be ready on May 18 to replace Tyson for any reason.
“Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title. It was one of our conditions.”
Fury and Usyk were supposed to do their long-awaited dance in February but the bout ended up being postponed after the former suffered a horror cut in the final spar of his training camp.
