Let’s go!” Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk confirm they will fight next to unify WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles to decide undisputed world champion; It was expected to be on December 23 but date now in doubt after Fury’s much tougher-than-anticipated clash with Francis Ngannou
Tyson Fury will fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship next.
Fury escaped an astonishing upset defeat on Saturday when he climbed off the canvas to narrowly, and highly contentiously, edge out Francis Ngannou on a split decision.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou was having just his first boxing bout when he took on Fury in a crossover event in Saudi Arabia.
It was a non-title 10-round bout, so Fury was never in danger of losing his WBC heavyweight championship. But his pride and reputation will have taken a severe dent ahead of the most important contest of his career.
Between them, Fury and Usyk hold all four of the major heavyweight world titles.
Usyk, like Fury, has never lost a professional bout. Since Usyk completed his second victory over Anthony Joshua last year to defend his unified championships, the clamour to see him fight Fury, the WBC heavyweight titlist, has continued to grow, even if that most unlikely boxer of all – Francis Ngannou – has inserted himself into the conversation after 10 unexpectedly competitive rounds.
Fury did sign for the Usyk fight before his 10-rounder with Ngannou so likely saw the former UFC champion more as a tune-up bout than a competitive outing.
Usyk has been his ultimate target. They engaged in a high-profile war of words as negotiations for their bout started up in the early part of this year but then stalled.
Instead, Usyk defended his WBO, IBF and WBA belts against spirited British challenger Daniel Dubois in August and then Fury agreed to box Ngannou.
Once Fury emerged from the clash with Ngannou with a win, albeit a controversial one, he could confirm his showdown with Usyk.
The two faced off in the ring in the immediate aftermath of the Ngannou fight.
“Let’s go!” Fury said.
Usyk said just the same. “Let’s go,” he replied. “I’m going to be fighting him, amazing.”
“Let’s go now if you want,” Fury continued.
“It’ll be our next fight guaranteed.”
There is no date set for it just yet, but it had been expected to be December 23, but that is now in doubt as Fury had a much tougher-than-anticipated clash with Ngannou. He was dropped and finished visibly marked up on his forehead, with swelling around his left eye.
He will need to assess his recovery before confirming when he will be able to box next.
Fury vs Usyk had to happen
Britain’s Fury first became a unified world champion when he sensationally defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
He never lost those titles in the ring but they became vacant when he didn’t box for more than two years.
He made a remarkable return in 2018 and controversially drew with Deontay Wilder that year. Fury beat Wilder in a rematch to win the WBC title and triumphed again in a sensational 2021 trilogy fight.
Last year he headlined two stadium fights in London, stopping both Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora to defend his title
