Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have agreed to fight next in the first quarter of next year. Arum hopes to have the deal done by the end of this year.
According to Arum, he says they have a couple of big offers from the Middle East to stage the Fury vs. Usyk fight there, but he’s not ruling out placing the match in the UK in the 95,000-seat Wembley Stadium in London.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) recently stopped journeyman Derek Chisora in the tenth round in a tune-up fight on December 3rd in London.
After the fight, a sheepish-looking Usyk stood outside the ring apron, seemingly afraid to enter the ring after Fury barked an earlier threat of slapping the IBF, WBA & WBC champion on sight if he ran into him after his fight with Chisora.
With Usyk not willing to risk getting attacked by Fury, Joe Joyce entered the ring and ruined Usyk’s moment by talking up a fight with Tyson. It was bizarre, to say the least. Usyk should have jumped in the ring and squared off with Fury, daring him to get froggish.
If the Fury-Usyk fight doesn’t get made, it’s a good bet that Fury will face Joyce (15-0, 14 KOs) next. That’s a match-up that will make good money in the UK, and have the Brits raving.
“The two fighters have agreed to fight each other next,” Arum told Sky Sports.
“With Fury and Usyk, we’re dealing with two adults, not a lot of back and forth. Usyk is a good friend of mine, he’s very intelligent, and Tyson is Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect,” said Arum.
You can’t blame Arum for going overboard in describing the traits of the 34-year-old Fury, but the truth is he’s a flabby heavyweight, who is slowing down due to the rapid aging process that is underway.
He no longer moves like the gazelle that defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015. Fury’s style now involves throwing single shots followed by clinching & leaning. It’s more like an anti-Superman.
“I’m very, very confident. As I said, the fighters have both agreed to fight each other next without any interim fights,” continued Arum.
“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. I hope maybe by the end of the year.”
