Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk world heavyweight title bout rescheduled for 18 May

London: Tyson Fury’s postponed world heavyweight title bout with Oleksandr Usyk has been rearranged for 18 May in Saudi Arabia, according to fight promoters on Saturday. Fury had been due to face Usyk for the undisputed world heavyweight crown on 17 February in Riyadh. But the eagerly-anticipated bout was postponed this week after the British fighter suffered a deep cut above his eye in training. Revealing the new date on Saturday, a statement from Queensberry Promotions on X, formerly known as Twitter, read: “The undisputed heavyweight championship fight between @Tyson_Fury and @usykaa has been rescheduled to May 18th in Riyadh.”

“Size matters, we have weight divisions for a reason.” 👑😤@Tyson_Fury will impose his will on @usykaa right from the off 😮‍💨#RingofFire #FuryUsyk | 17.02.24 | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/BYk6P7dfkU

— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) January 28, 2024

The 35-year-old Fury required 11 stitches to the gash, apparently throwing into doubt the chances of the fight taking place in the short-term. Usyk’s team had reportedly considered a bout with Croatian Filip Hrgovic as a late replacement. But Saturday’s announcement puts Fury and the 37-year-old Ukrainian back on a collision course. Usyk currently holds the WBO, WBA and IBF titles, with Fury the WBC champion at present. The last undisputed heavyweight champion was Lennox Lewis when he beat Evander Holyfield in 1999. Fury has won 34 fights with one draw since turning professional in 2008. His most recent fight was a controversial victory over former UFC world champion Francis Ngannou in October.