Fans will finally see the unmasking of the undisputed heavyweight champion in 2024 with the February 17th clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
The four heavyweight titles will be momentarily unified when WBC champion Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and IBF, WBA & WBO champ Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) meet with all the belts at stake in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Rematch Clause: A Thorn in the Side
Unfortunately, there’s a rematch clause in the contract for the Fury-Usyk fight, so fans will be stuck seeing these two fight a second time rather than the winner moving on to face Anthony Joshua or Filip Hrgovic.
Fans do NOT want to see Fury & Usyk fight a second time, as it’s a boring match-up, and not the interesting they want.
It’s disappointing that two champions are allowed to have a rematch clause because those things should only apply when it’s a champ making a voluntary defense. Imagine having a Super Bowl game where the loser can force a second game. It’s bad for the sport.
The IBF title will be stripped from the winner of the Fury vs. Usyk fight if the loser of the fight activates the rematch clause, which they will obviously do.
David vs. Goliath
On paper, the 270+ lb Fury should be able to crush the smaller 220-lb Usyk with his weight, but that’s probably not going to be the case. Fury’s size only helps against fighters that stand still in front of him, so he can grab, lean & maul them with his size.
The 2012 Olympic Usyk won’t stand still, and his skills are many levels better than Fury. His speed is also far superior to Fury’s, and this could be a frustrating fight for the slow, 35-year-old Tyson.
This would have been a better fight for Fury to take when was younger, physically fit, living the life, and still capable of moving around the ring.
Fury in his twilight years, chasing paydays
That version of Fury is long gone, as he’s now a middle-aged-looking fighter, who is heading towards retirement soon.
It’s believed that Fury only hangs on long enough to get the two fights against Usyk and Anthony Joshua. Once those four fights are over, Fury will likely hang up his gloves and retire a wealthy man.
Although the 37-year-old Usyk is two years older than the 35-year-old Fury, he’s physically a much younger man. The years haven’t been kind to Fury, as he’s aged, and the rich foods he’d stuffed down his piehole haven’t helped.
There’s a very good chance that Fury will lose his next four fights, and will end his career on a sour note, but it was bound to happen.
If you saw Fury’s fights with Wilder, watching him get dropped four times and dodging a couple of knockouts, it’s obvious that he would run into trouble once he fought Usyk & Joshua. Those guys are wrong for Fury.
Fury’s haters
What’s surprising is how many people are actively rooting against Fury, whom they loathe, seeing him as an indolent, self-indulgent, chubby fighter whom they want to see lose.
At this stage of Fury’s career, many fans watch him hoping he’ll lose because they want him gone or at least belt-less, where he could be ignored.
While the Brits love Fury, the rest of the world views him as bad for the sport because he fails to take on the talented heavyweights in the division.
They see him holding his WBC title hostage, putting the belt on hold, while he went and picked up a payday against Franciso Ngannou last October in Saudi Arabia. In Fury’s title defenses, he’s beaten his friend Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder. That’s not exactly the murderer’s row.
