Two big shows set for Saudi Arabia unveiled in less than 24 hours. Two unbeaten champions put their unblemished records on the line when unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk faces WBC titlist Tyson Fury on Feb. 17, 2024 rather than the hastily reported Dec. 23 date, and we’ll have our first undisputed divisional king since Lennox Lewis in 1999. It couldn’t come soon enough.
Fury predictably plays aggressor in maiden Usyk presser
Tyson Fury (c) vs. Oleksandr Usyk (c) for undisputed world heavyweight titles
February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Undercard bouts and further information TBC
- Fury’s promoter and Queensberry chief Frank Warren: “This is a historic event, the whole boxing world has been waiting many years and now they’ve got the sport’s biggest fight. As a boxing fan it doesn’t get any better, two great undefeated fighters, you’ll see a magnificent fight.”
- Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk spends mic time expressing his gratitude to Usyk, having spearheaded his career from the Ukrainian’s pro debut to now before stating: “We’ve been chasing this so long, finally it’s happening and I can hardly believe it… maybe once the first bell rings.”
- Fury animated on stage, declares he won’t be beaten, rubbishes Usyk before acknowledging he’s overexcited at the occasion. “Only last year it was impossible to make these big fights, Turki [Alalshikh] has made them all in about five minutes, it’ll be one of the fights for the ages, only one winner, I’m destined to cement my legacy as the no. 1 fighter in my era.”
- Usyk describes Brit as a talking head during post-presser interview, unfazed by his antics and says he’ll let his fighting do the talking for him come fight night as usual: “The man behaves like this when he feels uncomfortable about something, but this is a big opportunity for me. Undisputed for my family, my country, I expect an extraordinary fight.”
If yesterday’s press conference felt a bit subdued and overly respectful, then this was feisty and predictably powered into overdrive by one man: Tyson Fury.
Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk accepted as much during his address beforehand, kicking off the 35-year-old’s monologue by sarcastically thanking him for bravely accepting a fight with the future undisputed heavyweight champion.
The belts are coming to Ukraine, he stressed. There was no chance that sentence would echo over the Outernet building without reply. This came shortly afterwards:
The sceptical view is that, of course, Fury firing himself up is a not-so-subtle way of speaking the result into existence while massaging the ego.
Promoter Frank Warren on the left, manager Spencer Brown to his right, it’s not exactly a bad set-up as most within the assembled media chuckle at his mannerisms.
Then, as he often does, Tyson checked himself.
“He’s a good boxer, slick and all that but when they fight the big men, they struggle and he will on Feb. 17 – I’ll break him for sure. It’s not the size of the dog, it’s the size of the fight inside the dog.”
Okay, well then why has Usyk beaten Dereck Chisora, Anthony Joshua twice and most recently Daniel Dubois, all big men in their own right?
“They’re all bums, I don’t know. This is nowhere near the biggest threat of my career, not the biggest puncher or strongest, there are plenty of ways to skin this cat and obviously they’re conferring amongst each other, it’s not a talking contest, it’s a boxing match. Nothing more to say, that’s it.”
(He wasn’t finished here, mind.)
Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas called it the easiest fight he’s ever had to make in his career, after getting a phone call from Tyson’s friend and exchanging details with the aforementioned Brown, flew to New York for a business meeting. Less than an hour later, a handshake and the bout agreement sealed. If only it was always this easy.
“We’re looking forward to these two guys bringing fireworks, I’m so proud to be involved in this fight,” Klimas said.
Pride is the overriding feeling you could sense on team Usyk throughout, glad the histrionics are almost over and the fight three months away tomorrow.
The pair could’ve instead been announcing their rematch, having already boxed one another if the original April 29 date was agreed upon, but alas.
Usyk unwittingly rattled Fury after giving a David vs. Goliath example in his native language: “When the Lord gives me Tyson in my hands, I’ll produce – nothing’s impossible,” before getting interrupted and laughing off the Mancunian’s attempts at a back-and-forth. What was more interesting, as is often the case, came afterwards.
Having sparred both, Wardley knows more than most
British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley fronted TNT Sports’ press conference coverage alongside freelance broadcast commentator-analyst Andy Clarke and divulged some details having previously sparred both on his way to prominence.
Fury was harder of the pair to hit, not exactly a surprising revelation given the physical disparities between them with Tyson’s 6ft9in frame, but he felt Usyk was the harder puncher of the two from their sessions.
Usyk began his amateur career as a middleweight at age 18, but that was in 2005 at a much different time during his physical maturation.
He grew over time from light-heavy to representing Ukraine in two Olympic cycles as a cruiserweight, before moving up again after unifying the 200lb division.
By the time Feb. 17 rolls around, he would’ve been a fully-fledged heavyweight for four years and passed enough gutchecks to maintain confidence in his ability to match Fury, not least after watching him ringside against Francis Ngannou.
35 vs. 36, diminishing powers or just at the right time?
Granted, that was a completely different set of circumstances. Fury felt he’d carry the former UFC champion, outbox and eventually stop him but that display – complacency or not – adds credence to suggestions Tyson isn’t as good as he has been previously, or the wear-and-tear has taken a toll most didn’t foresee so quickly.
When boxing Dereck Chisora in unwanted trilogies and a lucrative Ngannou exhibition is your only fight in a calendar year, rather than ranked heavyweights during your prime, this is the risk you run and why fervent fans have grown agitated.
He said he doesn’t care about the critics, but inevitably hears the outside noise and has grown tired of people questioning his career choices, otherwise why address those criticisms here? One day it’s about building legacy, the next just money.
If there were murmurs that Usyk is also slipping a little from his fearsome best after needing nine rounds to dispatch Dubois in August, perhaps those questioning him need to rewatch from round five on – controversy included.
Targeting the body with intense aggression – akin to the Wilder rematch – will form part of the Fury gameplan, but Usyk knows that. Just like against Joshua in their second bout, he weathered the storm after being hurt and responded bullishly as you’d expect. Whether he can handle Fury’s pressure, remains to be seen.
Exclusive interviews with Masood Abdulah, Hamzah Sheeraz
- Rising featherweight Masood Abdulah tells me he’s been promised a Nathaniel Collins matchup in February, should the Scotsman successfully defend his British, Commonwealth titles without injury against Zak Miller
- As far as his fellow middleweights… unbeaten contender Hamzah Sheeraz backing Denzel Bentley to stop Nathan Heaney, while expecting Tyler Denny to be crowned European champion on points after a firefight
- Collins-Miller and Bentley-Heaney will feature on Frank Warren’s Queensberry card in Manchester, while Denny vs. Matteo Signani high on the BOXXER Wolverhampton bill this Saturday
- Sheeraz: “If Frank and Eddie – with the Saudi backing – can work together on a big stage where there’s more demand, that opens up opportunities for fighters like myself to have those cross-promotional bouts in future.”
- Both looking forward to Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker, for different reasons. Abdulah intrigued by Parker’s recent form and prospect of long-awaited Anthony Joshua showdown with the Bronze Bomber, while Sheeraz trains in the same strength-and-conditioning gym as the 38-year-old when based in LA for camps and recognises opportunity to learn
Hamzah Sheeraz’s middleweight matchup against Liam Williams, set for December 2, was officially postponed last week after Sheeraz suffered a perforated left ear drum during one of his final sparring sessions Stateside in the final weeks of training camp.
Mosope: Hamzah, how’s your ear? I wanted to talk about you, the disappointment about this injury timing, hopefully a speedy recovery and the bout being rebooked soon, how long did they say before you can start training again properly?
Hamzah: It’s alright, I’m still a bit deaf so might stand a bit funny but yeah. The injury happened two-and-a-half weeks ago, they told me four weeks – takes me to Dec. 2 – so I’ll be training from that date onwards, leads us to a February date. So hopefully a week before [Fury-Usyk on Feb. 24] or the week after, I’ll be in the ring with Williams.
MO: Is that a blessing in disguise that this happened now, rather than closer to fight night or during the bout itself. How did you feel when it happened, how long before you accepted it and those who’ll say it’s yet another injury?
HS: First two weeks, I was annoyed and frustrated but ultimately, what can I do about it? I wasn’t depressed but down for a week, had to focus on getting a new date and worry about recovering. You can’t shower without getting wet as they say.
The River Wilson-Bent injury was during the fight.
This in the lead-up to one where investments have been made, money’s been spent. As much as it’s a bummer for everyone else, I’ve spent £60-70,000 in Los Angeles and ultimately have to again, it’s a brutal sport, not so much what happens in the fight but training leading up to it, unfortunately one of those things but I’m blessed to have age on my side.
Besides Devin Haney, everyone unifying their divisions is between 30-36. I’m definitely in no rush, that’s how I have to look at it to remain sane and positive, keep my mental health intact because when you’re not training, you feel lost.
MO: Denzel Bentley and Tyler Denny in action this weekend, what’s your thoughts on their fights? Obviously on different paths, Denzel the British, Tyler going European..
HS: Both great fighters, both including myself make the domestic 160lb division very interesting to say the least, but if you’re asking my opinion on the fights… Denzel will knock Nathan Heaney out, Tyler in a barnstormer and just nick it on points.
Hopefully we’ll all get in the mix one day.
Masood Abdulah went into his featherweight clash against Marc Leach at York Hall on October 6 with an injury. While both he and Sheeraz are targeting February returns, I asked Masood about the division’s landscape and more.
Mosope: First of all Masood, we haven’t spoken since your win so congratulations. Talk to me about how the fight went, reflecting on it all and how you feel right now?
Masood: Thanks, I appreciate that. Yeah I feel good, it was a nervous fight for me because Marc is such a good opponent, I didn’t go into it 100%, felt I was 60% so surprised by the outcome but very pleased because he’s a very tough guy.
MO: Not many boxers are 100% going into their fights, but talk to me a bit about how close to fight night you felt weaker, acknowledging the situation and trying to… wade through in a way that limits risks while trying to box clever and win?
MA: The gameplan was the same, walk the guy down and do what I needed to. I used my jab a lot, my left hand was damaged as I jarred it a few times, but pushed through training thinking it was nothing but after we got it scanned, much worse than anticipated. Knowing the scan results, I’m super happy and how I dealt with that.
MO: Can you disclose that injury?
MA: It’s getting better now, I had bone fragments in my elbow that was causing me agony and continued pain. I just thought it was a jarred elbow, thought I was being a wuss but turns out it was a lot worse… almost fully healed now, so yeah.
MO: In terms of activity for next year, when would you like to be back once fully recovered? In an ideal year, when is the first fight of 2024?
MA: So I’ve been promised the first show back in February, it’ll be against Nathaniel Collins – provided he wins on Saturday and is injury-free – I’ll be there to watch it, I’ve got my eye on him and looking forward to that.
MO: In terms of Nathaniel and what he brings, didn’t get to see that much last time out against Raza Hamza but talk to me about his strengths, good things about his game that stand out to you?
MA: I know I’ve been talking shit about him but that’s just to get the fight. I think he’s a classy operator, very good technical boxer, it’ll be interesting to see how he deals with someone who doesn’t show him much respect, walk him down, I don’t know what the hell that last fight was… he touched the guy and he went down.
I’d like to test his chin, see what he’s made of, yeah.
MO: Nick Ball’s in action this weekend against Isaac Dogboe, thoughts on that?
MA: I’m actually a Nick Ball fan, he’s a dangerous guy – the real pint-sized power – it’ll be interesting, first world-level test. Dogboe was a world champion in the past, been there with some of the best, if he can get past him… I think he can make it in future.
MO: Who is the best featherweight world champion right now and why?
MA: [WBC interim] Brandon Figueroa. I sparred that guy when I was out in Las Vegas, that guy is a beast! A mammoth puncher, hits hard and knows how to drag you into his game rather than the other way around, really heavy-handed.
MO: I remember seeing you training in the same gym as Daniel Dubois before the Usyk fight in August, could you just talk a bit about Daniel after yesterday’s announcement, a lot of people are saying he’s got quit in him and perhaps isn’t made for this sport long-term, thoughts and the Jarrell Miller fight?
MA: Look, Daniel’s a 26-year-old man. Still a young guy with a lot to give and learn aswell, still think he’s one of the best. Daniel is world level so if you’re asking me what’s left? A hell of a lot. He can give any heavyweight a really good fight.
[On Miller] I would ask Frank to do very strict drug testing policy, Jarrell even now looks roided out! If it’s a clean Miller, I’m giving it to Dubois but I haven’t seen him fight clean for a while, so you know which way I’m leaning.
Opening picture, video my own and all besides that via Getty unless stated
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