PHOTO: Custom heavyweight title to be given to Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk winner
The winner of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk will be walking away with more gold than expected.
The long-awaited bout between 'The Gpysy King' and 'The Cat' was formally postponed last week. On Friday, Fury suffered a bad cut in sparring, forcing him out of the fight slated for Feb. 17. Quickly, Usyk's team slammed the British boxer.
However, they were able to make a quick turnaround and re-book the fight. On May 18 in Saudi Arabia, Fury and Usyk will hopefully fight. The bout is set to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era and the first undisputed champion in the weight class since Lennox Lewis.
As it turns out, the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury will also get a new championship. Last month at the Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou press conference, Turki Alalshikh revealed plans to create a new title.
At the presser, the Saudi advisor gave a mock-up of the 'World Heavyweight Undisputed Championship' belt. However, fans now have a glimpse of what the title will really look like. On X, TalkSport's Michael Benson released a photo of the new championship.
It's worth noting that this championship is largely just ceremonial in nature. Still, it's yet another prize for the winner of the May contest.
Sparring footage that led to Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk postponement
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will have to wait a bit longer to get their hands on the ceremonial heavyweight title.
Outside of the date change, however, the stakes are largely still the same. The bout is a historically important one for the heavyweight division.
Immieatedly following Fury's withdrawal from the fight last week, he was bashed by many online. Usyk's own manager, Egis Klimas, speculated that the British boxer had inflicted the cut himself to avoid the fight.
However, that's not the case. Earlier this week, a video of Fury's sparring session made its way to social media. The brief clip showed 'The Gypsy King' fighting with a smaller sparring partner and getting into the clinch.
In the clinch, his sparring partner threw a short shot that saw his elbow connect through the headguard. That one shot gave Fury an absolutely brutal cut that forced him out of his fight with Usyk.
However, with the fight now rescheduled, fans hope that it will be worth the wait.