Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk agree to fight next, says Bob Arum
According to Bob Arum, Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk is officially happening next.
'The Gypsy King' and 'The Cat' have been in talks since the latter's win over Anthony Joshua in August. While there were discussions about a December matchup, that didn't come to fruition as the Ukrainian was dealing with an injury.
In turn, the WBC Heavyweight Champion instead faced Derek Chisora in a trilogy matchup earlier this month. 'Del Boy' was battered en route to a tenth-round knockout defeat, putting him 0-3 against Fury.
Oleksandr Usyk on his face-off with Tyson Fury: "We negotiated it. If he agreed to fight, I would step onto the ring. A lot of things were said since then, like he would slap me in my face. But apparently he changed his mind after having his buttocks burned." [USYK17] https://t.co/WLeSpmQkLC
Following the win, Tyson Fury then had a face-off with Oleksandr Usyk that quickly went viral. The British superstar was his loud and boisterous self, while his foe was stoic as normal. After the event, both men confirmed they were hoping to fight early next year.
The Ukrainian's manager later confirmed that they would likely face off in February or March in the Middle East. Fury's current promoter, Bob Arum, gave an update on the situation in an interview with Sky Sports.
The head of Top Rank confirmed that the bout will indeed happen next, and no tune-up fight will be necessary. Arum stated:
"So they want the fight. Both of them want the fight and so there'll be very little, if any, [messing] around. So we'll be able to make that happen. I'm very, very confident. As I said the fighters have both agreed to fight each other next without any interim fights."
Watch his comments below (1:50):
Bob Arum reveals where Tyson Fury's return could take place
British boxing fans might get to see Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk in their country.
'The Gypsy King' has become a massive star worldwide, but has continued to fight at home. Fury has recently sold-out stadiums in the U.K. for his bouts against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, respectively.
However, Oleksandr Usyk is coming off his rematch against Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia. Many countries in the Middle East have a new-found interest in boxing and have paid fighters such as Floyd Mayweather lots of cash to compete in their country.
Reportedly, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have offered to host the heavyweight title clash. Instead, Bob Arum would personally like to hold the fight in the U.K. In an interview with Sky Sports, the promoter remarked:
"We are balancing a couple of significant offers from the Mid East and also there's the possibility of doing the fight in the UK at Wembley [stadium] with a massive 95,000 crowd in attendance."