Oleksandr Usyk still wants to fight Tyson Fury on December 23.
Fury and his co-promoter, Frank Warren, weren’t so sure Saturday night that will still be the date of their heavyweight title unification fight. Fury suffered a small cut on the lower left side of his forehead and some swelling around his left eye during his tougher-than-anticipated, 10-round, split-decision defeat of former UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
England’s Fury stated before he fought Ngannou that he planned to oppose Usyk eight weeks from Saturday night. The site of their fight, Kingdom Arena, was revealed when it was announced September 29 that Fury and Usyk had both signed contracts for a fight that, barring a draw or no-contest, will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The 35-year-old Fury might need more time off, however, after going 10 rough rounds with Cameroon’s Ngannou, who dropped Fury with a left hook late in the third round.
“Listen, it’s not up to me,” Fury said during his post-fight interview in the ring with TNT Sports. “I’m a fighter, he’s a fighter. I’m sure we’d go now. Let’s go now if you want, but listen, these guys will sort it all out and it’ll be our next fight, guaranteed.”
Warren, whose Queensberry Promotions represents Fury along with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., was noncommittal as well.
“I don’t think the date will be announced yet, in my opinion,” Warren said. “But the fight is wanted. It’s done. This man done it here, his excellency [Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh]. This fight is on. These guys both want it. And it’s just a matter of now setting the date. Tyson’s got a cut there, so it’s no good saying a date once he’s got a cut on top of his head. Let’s see how that heals. But this fight is on. It’s the biggest fight in boxing, the biggest fight in boxing. Everybody wants to see it, and they’re gonna see it here in Saudi, in Riyadh Season, where it’s gonna break all box office records. This is the biggest fight out there.”
Ukraine’s Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) went face to face with Fury in the ring Saturday night. The IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion had previously indicated that he might’ve wanted more time to get ready for their bout, but Usyk insisted that he’ll be ready to fight Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) two days before Christmas.
“We’re back [in] this ring 23 December,” Usyk said. “I’m ready to fight. Thank you so much. I go sleep.”
Usyk also said he wasn’t sure what to make of Fury’s subpar performance against Ngannou, who made his pro boxing debut against the unbeaten WBC champion. The 6-foot-9, 277¾-pound Fury was wary of Ngannou’s power for seven-plus rounds after Ngannou dropped him, but Fury won six rounds according to judge Alan Krebs (95-94) and seven rounds on judge Juan Carlos Pelayo’s card (96-93).
Judge Ed Garner gave Ngannou credit for a narrow win, 95-94, in their surprisingly competitive pay-per-view main event.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.