The eagerly awaited boxing showdown for the undisputed heavyweight crown between Tyson Fury (35) and Alexander Usyk (37) has been canceled.
The Briton Fury suffered a deep cut over his eye during training in sparring, which makes his participation in the fight originally planned for February 17 in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh impossible. This was announced by the promoter of the fight on Friday.
“I’m devastated, I’ve been preparing for this fight for so long and was in great shape,” said Fury: “I feel bad for all the people involved in this huge event. Once everything has healed I will work towards the make-up date with dedication. I can only apologize to everyone involved. “
Fury wants to become the undisputed world champion
A new date has not yet been set. Fury and Ukrainian Usyk only agreed on February 17 in mid-November. December 23, 2023 had also already been discussed, but this date was unrealistic anyway, as Fury had only been in the ring with MMA star Francis Ngannou in a show fight at the end of October and had revealed some problems there.
Fury’s WBC world title was not at stake against Ngannou. The Briton (35 fights, 34 wins, one draw) wants to be crowned the undisputed world champion against the Ukrainian WBA, WBO and IBF champion Usyk (21 fights, 21 wins).
The last time his compatriot Lennox Lewis achieved this status was in 1999. At that time, the holder of the WBA, WBC and IBF belts was considered undisputed.
