Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk to meet for undisputed heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia
In a year of major fights, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have saved the best for last. Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, signed to meet Usyk, the IBF-WBA-WBO champion, for the undisputed heavyweight title as early as Dec. 23, or perhaps in January in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The story was first reported by the Sun.
Fury has an Oct. 28 pay-per-view bout in Riyadh against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou that will serve as a good tune-up for the event boxing fans have been hoping to see since Usyk upset Anthony Joshua to become unified champion.
Fury and Usyk came close to striking a deal at the end of 2022, but it fell apart over a disagreement on the percentage split for a potential rematch.
Usyk is 21-0 after knocking out Daniel Dubois in the ninth round on Aug. 26 in Wroclaw, Poland. He is a former undisputed cruiserweight champion and won his belts by winning a decision over Joshua in London on Sept. 25, 2021. He defeated Joshua in a rematch on Aug. 20, 2022, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Fury has had a close relationship with the Saudis for a long time and at a news conference to promote the Ngannou fight, he shouted out Mohammed bin Salman, the controversial crown prince of Saudi Arabia.
Fury is 33-0-1 with 24 knockouts. He won three of the four major belts on Nov. 28, 2015, when he defeated the legendary Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany. He surrendered the belts after suffering significant mental health issues and ballooning in weight to over 400 pounds. He admitted he contemplated suicide at one point.
He won the title in a rematch with Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on Feb. 22, 2020, stopping Wilder in the seventh. They had fought to a split draw in Los Angeles on Dec. 1, 2018.
Usyk is ranked third and Fury is seventh on Yahoo Sports' pound-for-pound list.
