2 minutes A Battle for the Ages: Who Will Reign Supreme in Saudi Arabia?
The big showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the heavyweight champ title just got moved to May 18th in Saudi Arabia. Fury, who's 35 and from Britain, was all set to go up against Ukraine's Usyk on February 17th, but had to back out last minute because he got a nasty cut while sparring. Now, they're gearing up to see who's gonna be the top dog in the heavyweight class, holding all four major belts for the first time ever. Fury's got the WBC belt, and Usyk's rocking the IBF, WBO, and WBA titles.
Usyk, who's 37, was even thinking about fighting Filip Hrgovic from Croatia as a quick sub for the February fight. Since Hrgovic is the next in line for Usyk's IBF title, there was some worry Usyk might lose his belt if Fury needed too much time off. But, things turned around super fast, and the folks organizing the fight in Saudi Arabia, along with Fury's team, managed to lock in a new date in no time.
It's been a minute since we had an undisputed heavyweight champ - not since Lennox Lewis took out Evander Holyfield back in '99. Fury's injury above his right eye sounded pretty bad, needing lots of stitches and immediate care. It's actually the third time their fight's been pushed back since 2023.
Turki Alalashikh, who's in charge of entertainment stuff in Saudi Arabia, mentioned that if Usyk or Fury bail on this new date, they're out by about £9.25 million to the other guy.
And in other fight news, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev are set to throw down in a massive light-heavyweight title fight on June 1st. Both guys are unbeaten champs, with Bivol holding the WBA (Super) title and Beterbiev owning the WBO, IBF, and WBC belts. This clash is going to be the main event in a big face-off organized by Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions, where five of Eddie Hearn's fighters will take on five from Frank Warren's squad.
Fury v Usyk Betting Odds
Tyson Fury - 8/11
Oleksandr Usyk - 11/10
Draw - 20/1
Tyson Fury:
- Nationality: British
- Date of Birth: August 12, 1988
- Height: 6' 9" (206 cm)
- Reach: 85" (216 cm)
- Stance: Orthodox
- Total Fights: 35
- Record: 34-0-1 (24 KOs)
- Titles Held: WBC Heavyweight title since 2020, previously held unified heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016, and the Ring magazine title twice between 2015 and 2022.
Oleksandr Usyk:
- Nationality: Ukrainian
- Date of Birth: January 17, 1987
- Height: 6' 3" (190 cm)
- Reach: 78" (198 cm)
- Stance: Southpaw
- Total Fights: 21
- Record: 21-0-0 (14 KOs)
- Titles Held: Unified heavyweight titles since 2021, including the Ring magazine title and the IBO title. Previously, undisputed cruiserweight championship from 2018 to 2019.