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Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk: Heavyweight fight postponed due to British boxer’s cut in sparring

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Tyson Fury

‘Ring of Fire’ fight to crown undisputed heavyweight champion postponed as Tyson Fury suffers cut in sparring; Fury was due to meet Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday February 17; Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas says Fury “will do anything to not face Usyk”, adding maybe “he was hit by frying pan”

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight title fight has been postponed due to the British boxer sustaining a cut in sparring.

WBC champion Fury was due to battle WBO, WBA and IBF titlist Usyk in Saudi Arabia in the ‘Ring of Fire’ fight on Saturday February 17, live on Sky Sports Box Office, but that has now been delayed.

The “freak cut” opened up above Fury’s right eye and required “urgent medical attention and significant stitching”, Queensberry Promotions revealed in a statement.

Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas told Sky Sports that Fury “will do anything to not face Usyk” before mockingly adding that maybe “he was hit by a frying pan which he asked for”.

Sky Sports News have contacted Queensberry for comment.

Klimas added it was “too early to say” whether Usyk would wait for a new fight date with Fury or take another bout in the interim, saying: “It’s very hot at the moment, we just got this straight from the oven.”

Frank Warren, who runs Queensberry, told TalkSport that Fury’s cut happened in Riyadh on Friday morning “in sparring with a Croatian heavyweight who caught his eye with his elbow”.

Sky Sports understands the fighter in question to be southpaw Agron Smakici.

Fury had previously suffered a gaping cut around his right eye following a bloody points win over Otto Wallin in September 2019.

Fury ‘devastated’ at fight postponement, was ‘in fantastic shape’

The winner of any rescheduled fight between Fury and Usyk stands to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and the first in the four-belt era.

Fury said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such a superb condition.

“I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.

“I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Fury added in an Instagram post: “Can’t help getting injured in sparring but what I can say was Usyk was in trouble.

“I am in fantastic shape. I will reschedule as soon as I can.”

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BOXING

Usyk’s Manager: Tyson Fury Will Probably Be The Hardest Fight of Oleksandr’s Career

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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

Egis Klimas, the manager for IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, expects WBC champion Tyson Fury to become his boxer’s toughest opponent to date.

Usyk, an Olympic gold medal winner, became the undisputed world champion at cruiserweight in 2018.

Usyk and Fury will collide on February 17th in Saudi Arabia, where organizers hope to crown an undisputed heavyweight king.

Oleksandr Tyson

Fury is coming off one of the worst performances of his career – a ten round split decision win in a non-title crossover boxing match with MMA Francis Ngannou, who was making his pro debut.

Usyk retained his belts in August, with a knockout of mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.

Now the stage is finally set to crown a single champion in boxing’s biggest weight class.

“We`ve been working to get this fight for a long, long time and finally we did it. Definitely it isn`t going to be an easy fight. It will probably be the hardest fight of Oleksandr`s career. He`s confident, but simultaneously he knows full well that there`s going to be a lot of work to do. He`s a hard worker, a good athlete and a very good fighter,” Klimas stated during the World Boxing Council`s weekly press conference in Mexico City.

“It`s not going to be easy to get sparring partners, because Tyson Fury is very tall, with a long reach and he has a very awkward style and he`s heavy, so this is going to be the biggest challenge. But I have no doubts that Oleksandr is going to win. Factors will be his footwork, his intelligence, his boxing IQ. I wouldn`t even say Fury has big power. He has a lot of weight and he leans on fighters. That`s how he wears them down. But it won`t be easy to beat down Oleksandr.

“Don`t forget that as cruiserweight champion Oleksandr already held all four belts. Nobody believed that he could go so far in the heavyweight division. Nobody believed that he could come in and dominate the heavyweight division which is doing. I`ve been blessed to work with Oleksandr. Of course this means a lot to me. He`s a very good human being, he has no envy, he always smiles, is happy he enjoys greeting people. It is a pleasure to be with Oleksandr. This will be a great show. The biggest show!”

 

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