UPDATE (11:44 am ET): Both Tyson Fury and promoter Frank Warren have confirmed the news. Fury vs Usyk is signed.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have reportedly signed contracts for an undisputed heavyweight championship fight to take place in Saudi Arabia, with the fight coming either late this year or early in 2024.
Mike Coppinger of ESPN.com reported the news this morning. Once again, huge news like this very often drops during a big fight week, so that the most eyes possible are on the sport. And we are in a big fight week for sure.
Fury first has his quasi-exhibition fight with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28, but if he gets through that as easily as he expects, there is a chance the Usyk fight can happen on Dec. 23.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KO) has the WBC heavyweight title and also The Ring magazine belt and a “lineal” claim, while Usyk (21-0, 14 KO) holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO titles.
Fury, 35, last fought in Dec. 2022, when he easily routed Derek Chisora in a trilogy fight nobody asked to see at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Usyk, 36, was just out on Aug. 26 in Poland, stopping Daniel Dubois in a fight that came with some controversy, which Fury has made a focus in media chats since.
It’s easily the biggest actual fight that can be made in the heavyweight division and one of the biggest in the sport, period, from a commercial standpoint. As far as having meaning for legacy, there may be no fight in the sport right at this moment that could happen and match what this one will mean for these two fighters.