Fight Usyk – Fury. What is the catch in the organization so far

A potential heavyweight unification bout between WBC champion Tyson Fury and WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO title holder Oleksandr Usyk has many uncertainties. And the promoters’ statements that the official date and venue of the fight will be announced within a week are reminiscent of Arestovich’s statements in the early months of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine. As in the second case, in the situation with the boxing fight, dates are constantly shifted, different conditions are called, but so far the date and place of the fight have not been determined. We tell what is known at the moment, and what is the snag in organizing the duel.

Possible date of Usyk-Fury fight

Initially, the Usyk-Fury fight was supposed to take place at all in mid-late February. This date, in our opinion, initially seemed unrealistic, given that Fury had a fight with Chisora ​​in December, and, according to the Gypsy King himself, he was injured in it.

Later, the date of the fight was moved to mid-late March. This was already quite realistic if it was about the first half of the month. In the second, Ramadan came, making it impossible to fight in a Muslim country.

As a result, new changes: according to Fury’s promoter, the fight should take place on the last Saturday of April – the 29th. At the same time, the possible place of the battle has not yet been named.

Possible location of Usyk-Fury fight

According to the organizers, now there are two options. The first is Saudi Arabia, where Usyk had a rematch with Joshua. The second is Wembley Stadium, where Fury fought White last April.

And no matter how trite it may sound, at the moment everything depends on money. Even with the full capacity of the main stadium in Britain, it is unlikely that the organizers will receive the same amount that they can pay for the fight in the Middle East. And as that Fury said, despite the sports component, money is also important to him in the battle with Usyk.

Why the Saudi sheikhs are in no hurry to accept the Usyk-Fury fight

But the catch is that so far, according to our information, the Saudi side has not offered conditions identical to those received by Usyk and Joshua in their second duel. With what it is connected, it is difficult to say, one can only speculate.

Perhaps the results, whatever it means for the Saudi side, Usyk-Joshua did not suit her. Perhaps the financial requirements of the Fury team exceed the requirements of the same Usyk and Joshua. Perhaps it’s all about Eddie Hearn’s ability to negotiate/sell fights and the tough negotiating stance of old-school manager Fury’s co-promoter Frank Warren, unwilling to compromise.

In any case, such an opinion may develop, given the latest reports of a possible Usyk-Fury fight from well-known boxing insiders. According to them, Usyk’s team accepted all the proposals, the Gypsy King’s team did not.

When will the Usyk-Fury fight take place?

While the potential date of the fight remains unchanged – April 29. However, there are doubts about it. “The delay is due to the demands of the fighters. Of course, you also need to wait until the end of Ramadan. Because of this, the date in March fell through. I’m not sure the fight will take place in April. Perhaps it will take place later, but I hope that this fight will take place, ”said promoter Joshua Eddie Hearn.

What are Usyk and Fury doing now?

Both train and, judging by the posts on social networks, are quite active. True, now Usyk has taken a break, having arrived in Turkey for the Winter Cup 2022 football tournament, where he can play as part of Polissya. Which, in fact, the Ukrainian did last year.

Fury, surprisingly, also significantly reduced his social media activity. From time to time, he comments on Usyk’s appeals to him or writes down his own, but not as actively as he usually does.

How realistic is April 29th?

Quite. Both boxers are actively training. But there are several nuances. First, it seems that it is very difficult for Fury to work in an intensive training mode for a long time without fighting. And if so, then the Gypsy King, who has gained combat form, may not want to wait for almost three more months, deciding to meet again in the ring with some less dangerous opponent.

Second, if the fight is decided to take place in the Middle East, it is the already mentioned Ramadan and possible organizational difficulties in connection with the holy month for Muslims. Boxers will need time to adapt (Joshua spent several months in the Middle East before the fight with Usyk, Usyk at least one). It turns out that the month of adaptation, subject to the battle on April 29, will fall just on the holy month (March 22 – April 20). Yes, it is not forbidden to work during Ramadan, but there will be various nuances that boxing teams should take into account when organizing their training camps in the Middle Eastern countries.

Who can Usyk and Fury fight if they don’t agree on a fight?

There are actually a lot of options. Suffice it to say that Usyk owns three championship belts and can make a mandatory defense of any of them. In any case, neither the WBA, nor the WBO, nor the IBF announced the ellemanators (the latter announced its intention to bring Hrgovic and Ruiz into the ring, but so far there have been no official announcements). WBA Mandatory Challenger Daniel Dubois, WBO No. 1 ranked Cuban Franks Sanchez. There is also Wilder returning to the ring, the same White and Parker, fights with which Hearn will easily arrange, or Martin Bokole, who is rapidly breaking into the elite.

As for Fury, it is very difficult to predict the choice of the Gypsy King. He has more than once surprised with the selection of opponents (which are Seferi and Pianeta, Schwartz and Wallin, or a second fight with Chisora).

But still we hope that the main battle of the last three decades in the Royal Division will still take place. We believe that the official announcement of the duel between Usyk and Fury will not have to wait long.