Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk Reportedly Pushed Back to February

The heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury (34-0-1) and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0) has been pushed back a few months after the Brit’s near upset loss against Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last weekend.

A +800 underdog going into his boxing debut, Ngannou took the WBC heavyweight champ to a controversial split decision, which didn’t go the Cameroonian’s way despite him having scored the lone knockdown of the bout. Most of the combat sports fraternity, including the former UFC heavyweight champ himself, called it a robbery. Usyk, who was in attendance for the fight, entered the ring after the bout to cut a promo for his upcoming fight against Fury.

Fury vs. Usyk was announced just weeks before the Ngannou fight despite Fury’s disapproval of the timing. While the clash was originally targeted for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, it has now reportedly been pushed back to February for a yet-to-be-decided date. The change in date was first reported by ESPN.

The fight will decide the undisputed heavyweight champion, with Fury putting his WBC title on the line against Usyk’s WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles. Their contract also includes a two-way rematch clause, which essentially guarantees two consecutive high-caliber bouts between them. The possibility of two bouts between Fury and Usyk means that a rematch between “The Gypsy King” and Ngannou isn’t likely to happen any time in the near future.