The heavyweight boxing matchup that the world has been waiting for is officially signed. ESPN’s Mike Coppinger was the first to break the news this morning that WBC and Lineal heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury (33-0-1) will take on current WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0).
As of now, the plan is to have this boxing heavyweight title fight take place on December 23rd. However, the fight could shift to January if need be. That said, this is not a verbal agreement, contracts have been signed and the heavyweight title fight is on.
Usyk is likely going to enter the bout a underdog to Fury. There was a ton of controversy in Usyk’s last title defense where he was dropped with a ferocious body shot by Daniel Dubois. However, the referee ruled the shot was a low blow and the fight continued. The replay clearly showed the shot was a good shot and in reality, Usyk should’ve lost the fight.
However, the fight continued and the boxing champion ultimately finished Dubois in the 9th round. Now, he’ll take his titles and perfect professional record and face one of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
Boxing’s Undisputed Heavyweight Title
It’s very rare to see this, but Tyson Fury now has two fights booked. He’s scheduled to face off against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on October 28th and then he’ll have a quick turnaround to face Usyk for the undisputed boxing heavyweight championship.
While this is the fight that most boxing purest want to see and have been dying to see, it does show Fury’s confidence in the Ngannou fight. If Fury wasn’t so sure that he was going to walk through the former UFC champion, I don’t think he’d book such a quick turnaround. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what he’s done.
Fury has the chance to end the year with a massive bang. If he beats Ngannou then beats Usyk to regain the undisputed boxing championship, he’ll be walking around feeling like the baddest man on the planet.