It’s been one of sport’s biggest cases of “will they, won’t they” in recent memory: finally, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will step into the ring to face each other on Saturday.
After months of talk and canceled fights, the two boxers will exchange blows to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, and the division’s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era.
Here’s everything you need to know about their fight.
How to watch
Fury and Usyk will take center stage on Saturday, May 18, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The undercard will get underway at 12 p.m. ET, with the main event ringwalks expected to start at 6 p.m. ET.
DAZN will broadcast the fight around the world, with viewers in the US able to watch on ESPN’s pay-per-view service. Sky Sports and TNT Sports will show the fight in the UK via their pay-per-view platforms.
A long time in the making
A fight between Fury and Usyk has been a long time coming.
In one corner is Fury, who has gone through a gauntlet of high-powered stars – including Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte and a trilogy against Deontay Wilder – to be in possession of the WBC heavyweight title.
In the other corner is Usyk, who had already conquered the cruiserweight division before stepping up to heavyweight, winning – and defending – the WBO, WBA and IBF titles against Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
While boxing fans have long expressed their frustrations about the best not fighting the best, reports began to circulate last March that the two camps were close to agreeing terms for a fight in April.
Finally, a date of December 23 was agreed, but following a controversial, tougher-than-expected fight for Fury against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, the fight was delayed until February, 2024.
Yet, on the eve of the second date, it was postponed once more after the Briton suffered “a freak cut” above his eye during a sparring session.
The Ukrainian revealed afterwards that he had missed the birth of his daughter because of his preparations for the fight. But after rescheduling twice, the fight is on.
All on the line
There’s a lot at stake besides the four heavyweight world titles, with the winner crowned one of the greatest heavyweights of his generation.
Undefeated records are also at risk. Fury has won 34 bouts and has one draw since turning professional, while Usyk has won all 21 of his fights.
The 37-year-old Usyk is ranked as the third best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by The Ring magazine, and becoming the undisputed world heavyweight champion would cement his position as the standard-bearer for the division.
A victory for Fury would help him recover from his surprisingly poor showing against Ngannou in October, while also possibly setting up a long-awaited, high-profile, all-British fight against former heavyweight champion Joshua.
Physically, Fury has the edge over Usyk. He stands at 6-feet-9-inches with an 85-inch reach while Usyk is listed at 6-feet-3-inches with a 78-inch reach.
It will likely be a tactical affair, with both fighters not giving much away as they search for a chink in the other’s armour.
At a news conference in Riyadh, Fury’s message to Usyk was: “God bless him. I’ll say a prayer for him before the fight and for us both to get out of the ring safely.”
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