The much-anticipated heavyweight championship fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is finally set in Saudi Arabia, with the date yet to be confirmed.
The British WBC world champion, Fury, and the Ukrainian holder of the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO belts, Usyk, both maintain undefeated records.
Previous attempts to arrange this unification fight, including a failed bid to host the match at London’s Wembley Stadium, have fallen through. However, the fight is now a go with Saudi Arabia’s financial support.
The event will be promoted by Queensbury Promotions, Bob Arum’s Top Rank, K2, and Usyk17 at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. “You can’t run rabbit run anymore Usyk, you’re getting it,” Fury posted on Instagram.
“This is the fight that everyone has wanted to see for some time and now it is finally happening,” said Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Fury is also scheduled to fight former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 28. The fight will kick off the Riyadh Season, a winter festival featuring various sporting and cultural events.
Unconfirmed reports suggest the Fury vs. Usyk fight could occur on Dec. 23 or January. Frank Warren of Queensberry, who promotes Fury, expressed his delight at finally getting the Usyk fight signed off. “This is the biggest fight that could possibly be made in our sport,” he said.
Fury has held the WBC belt since 2020, when he defeated American Deontay Wilder. He has a professional fight record of 33 wins and one draw.
He was stripped of the IBF title in 2015 after agreeing to a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko instead of facing a mandatory challenger.
Usyk has a record of 21 wins — 14 by knockout — and turned professional after winning the heavyweight gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
Saudi Arabia also hosted Usyk’s title defence against Britain’s Anthony Joshua in Jeddah in August 2022.
