Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk postponed until February after ‘The Gypsy King’ suffers two cuts in Francis Ngannou bout

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will no longer be boxing on December 23 as expected.

Fury and Usyk had signed on to box on Dec. 23 in Saudi Arabia for the unified heavyweight titles. It was a massive fight, but before that fight would happen, Fury was set to box Francis Ngannou last Saturday in Saudi Arabia in what many thought would be a tune-up fight.

However, Ngannou made the fight much more competitive and even dropped Fury. When the fight ended, it was Tyson Fury who won a split decision, but he had two cuts and took more damage than expected. With that, many wondered if his fight against Usyk would still go ahead on Dec. 23.

Now, according to ESPN boxing reporter Mike Coppinger, the fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will take place in February in Saudi Arabia.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN.
 
Fury-Usyk was planned for Dec. 23 before Fury struggled in a far tougher-than-expected win over Francis Ngannou. Fury suffered two cuts. pic.twitter.com/IGkLKpddof

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) October 31, 2023

“Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship in February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, sources told ESPN.   Fury-Usyk was planned for Dec. 23 before Fury struggled in a far tougher-than-expected win over Francis Ngannou. Fury suffered two cuts.”

The exact date of the rescheduled fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is uncertain. But, the fight will still take place in Saudi Arabia. Coppinger also reports that the deal contains a two-way rematch clause, meaning it pretty much guarantees the two will fight at least two times.

Tyson Fury (34-0-1) is coming off a split decision win over Francis Ngannou back on Saturday. Prior to that, he scored a TKO win over Derek Chisora to defend his WBC heavyweight title. Fury is the former unified heavyweight champion of the world and holds notable wins over Deontay Wilder, twice, Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte, and Otto Wallin among others.

Oleksandr Usyk (21-0) is the current WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion and is coming off a KO win over Daniel Dubois. Prior to that, he had back-to-back wins over Anthony Joshua. Usyk is also the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world.