After months of negotiations, heavyweight boxing stars Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have inked contracts for a much-anticipated fight set to take place in Saudi Arabia early next year.
The clash will follow Fury's upcoming bout against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
This showdown will occur as part of Saudi Arabia's season of sport, aiming to align the mega-fight with the final of the football World Club Cup.
The agreement for this fight will put both fighters in the ring for the undisputed heavyweight championship. This prestigious title is granted to the holder of all four major boxing sanctioning bodies: WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO.
Fury currently holds the WBC heavyweight title, while Usyk boasts the IBF World Heavyweight, WBO World Heavyweight, and WBA Super World Heavyweight championships. The winner of this bout will claim one of the most prestigious honors in the sport.
Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, and Usyk's promoter, Alex Krassyuk, have both confirmed the fight's status, expressing their excitement for this monumental event.
Before this highly anticipated match, Fury is scheduled to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, following a social media call-out by the Gypsy King. Although this bout will not affect their professional records, it will be contested under official boxing rules.
This fight marks Fury's return since defeating Deontay Wilder in their trilogy bout via an eleventh-round knockout. Usyk's most recent victory was a knockout win over Daniel Dubois.
While this match puts a potential all-British bout between Fury and Anthony Joshua on hold, it opens the door for an encounter between Fury and American boxer Deontay Wilder.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, expressed his thoughts on a potential Fury-Wilder bout, believing it could be an exciting matchup for both fighters.
The boxing world eagerly awaits these thrilling matchups on the horizon. Photo by Mike DiDomizio, Wikimedia commons.