Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An exact date for the long-delayed contest has yet to be confirmed but both men have signed contracts for a fight that current speculation suggests could take place on 23 December or in January.
There will be relief among boxing supporters that the sport’s tarnished flagship division could at last have a unified champion for the first time since Lennox Lewis held all the belts in 1999. However, there should also be dismay that boxing has yet again succumbed to the lure of Saudi’s sportswashing strategy.
Fury is already fighting in Riyadh on 28 October, in a farcical non-title bout against the former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou who has never previously boxed. In recent weeks Fury had suggested that he had little interest in facing Usyk and had spoken of also fighting other mixed martial artists instead of legitimate boxers. But on Friday afternoon he announced that he will defend his WBC title against Usyk – the Ukrainian who holds the three other heavyweight belts belonging to the IBF, WBA and WBO sanctioning bodies.
Fury posted a typical message on Instagram: “I do what I say. I say what I do. Undisputed. This is the Gypsy King era. You can’t rabbit run anymore Usyk – you’re getting it. Thank you to the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia].”
His British promoter, Frank Warren, said: “Delighted to finally get this fight signed. This is the biggest fight that could possibly be made in our sport. The heavyweights always spark the imagination of the fans, and I have no doubt this will be the biggest boxing event of the century.”
Alex Krassyuk, who promotes Usyk and had despaired of the fight ever being staged, said: “I can’t believe it’s happening but it is. Gratitude to the KSA for making it happen, respect to Tyson for his courage and thank the Lord for all he gives us.”
Fury is unbeaten after 34 fights while Usyk has won all 21 of his professional bouts.
Felix Jakens, of Amnesty International UK, said: “Both Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk should understand how this fight will be used by the Saudi authorities to project a glitzy image of the country a world away from the dark reality of being jailed for voicing your opinion, of widespread torture, unfair trials and mass executions.”
