No place is wilder than the world of heavyweight boxing when big news breaks – so imagine the chaos when Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk was postponed on Friday.
The two behemoths had been due to meet in Saudi Arabia on February to crown the sport’s first undisputed world heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis way back in 1999. But not so fast.
In late afternoon the news broke that Fury (34-0-1) had sustained ‘a freak cut’ in sparring on Friday morning. It would take 15 stitches to close, per reports, and that February 17 date was now history.
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While Fury said he had been incredible shape for the big showdown, and wife Paris added he had been ‘p***ed off and disappointed’ by the injury, Team Usyk had a different take on things.
Team Usyk react to Fury cut
Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk responded to Fury’s Instagram post with the simple message: “Wish you soonest recovery. God sent you a sign. Think of retirement, brother ????????”
Meanwhile Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas was clearly frustrated by the postponed just over two weeks out from fight night in Riyadh. He claimed to Sky Sports that Fury “will do anything to not face Usyk” before mockingly adding that maybe “he was hit by a frying pan which he asked for”.
When will Fury vs Usyk happen?
Now all attention turns to when Fury vs Usyk might happen. The smart money appears to be on a summer fight, with June or July apparently favourite.
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Everything will depend of course on how long Fury’s cut takes to heal. It appears to be in the same area as the horrific gash which required 47 stitches after Fury’s 2019 win over Otto Wallin in Las Vegas. Then he was able to return five months later, in February 2020, to dethrone WBC king Deontay Wilder in their second fight.
