Frank Warren rips into Oleksandr Usyk for 'untrue claims' in the wake of Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight news
British boxing promoter Frank Warren has slammed Oleksandr Usyk for making untrue claims ahead of the fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.
Fury is set to take on Ngannou later this year in October. While there were talks of 'The Gypsy King' potentially taking on Usyk for the undisputed championship, the negotiations fell apart. Fury then went on to finalize a deal with former UFC champion Ngannou.
Reacting to the same, Oleksandr Usyk made some bold claims by stating that Tyson Fury is afraid of him. During an interview with Sky Sports, he said:
"The guy [Ngannou] is going to earn some decent money. For Francis Ngannou, this is a great opportunity, but for Tyson Fury, it's definitely not. Doesn't it seem strange that instead of choosing a top-10 guy, he is choosing someone who has never boxed before?... Greedy belly [Fury] is afraid of me."
Fury's promoter Frank Warren has now ripped into Usyk for questioning Fury's decision to fight Ngannou. During a recent interview with talkSPORT Boxing, Warren said:
"We're certainly not gonna be sitting around, you know, scratching our backsides waiting for people to fight the best heavyweights in the world. They don't want to do it. If they wanted to do it, they would've jumped up to the plate and this stuff that has been put up by Usyk and people were brought into it is totally untrue."
Catch his comments in the video below (4:00):
Who is Oleksandr Usyk fighting next?
Oleksandr Usyk has been out of action since a decision win over Anthony Joshua in their rematch last August. Almost a year later, the Ukranian is set to return in a fight against Daniel Dubois in Poland.
The WBA (Regular) heavyweight champion is coming off a knockout win over Kevin Larena last December. And while Dubois wasn't expected to get a crack at a major heavyweight title yet, the uncertainty at the top of the division has led to him being called upon to face Usyk.
It is worth noting that going into the fight, the Ukranian is a massive favorite. However, in a sport where things can change with just one punch, it's unfair to rule out Dubois' chances of getting the win.