- Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk is now set to happen on May 18
- A 10 million penalty will be given if one of them pulls out from the fight
The highly-anticipated unification heavyweight title bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is now rescheduled for May 18.
A major change
Originally, the bout was set to take place on February 17. Unfortunately, Fury suffered a cut during a training session which caused the delay.
To fix the issue, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, chairman of general authority for entertainment in Saudi Arabia has now confirmed that the new date for the Fury vs. Usyk fight will be on May 18.
Alalshikh further pointed out that there would be a 10 million penalty (not sure if which currency yet) if one of the heavyweight champions pulls out and proven “scared” to fight.
“On May 18, we will have the answer whether someone is a coward. We can deliver the fight. I chose the date, and it is May 18. We have delayed it until May 18,” Alalshikh said on The MMA Hour.
“I guarantee both fighters ten million [penalty] if someone escapes from the fight. This is the first thing,” he added. “The second thing is I guarantee a big fight on the same night we will have another one [a big fight]… Make people worldwide know if someone is scared and wants to escape from this fight. On May 18, we will have Tyson vs Usyk.”
His Excellency says #FuryUsyk will now happen on May 18.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/reGRbg5aCD
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 3, 2024
The true heavyweight king will rise
Fury vs. Usyk is not only the biggest but also, the most important title fight in heavyweight boxing. A lot is at stake in the match as “The Gypsy King” will put his WBC title on the line while Usyk will be risking his WBA, WBO and IBF titles. The winner of the bout will be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
Usyk is coming off a KO win over Daniel Dubois and has improved his unbeaten pro record to 21-0-0. On the other hand, Fury was able to score a decision win over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou and is coming in with a 34-0-1 pro record.
