Tyson Fury has made a statement about his injury and subsequent postponement of his previously scheduled undisputed heavyweight championship contest against Oleksandr Usyk for February 17th, apologizing and saying the fight will be rescheduled later.
It remains to be seen whether boxing fans will get the opportunity to see WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and IBF/WBA/WBO champ Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) battle it out.
‼️ Footage has now emerged appearing to show the moment Tyson Fury was cut by an ELBOW in sparring, causing the Oleksandr Usyk fight to be postponed… pic.twitter.com/dDy3e0Cv4o
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 2, 2024
There’s talk of Usyk defending against replacement opponent, his IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic, on February 17th at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The downside of Hrgovic facing Usyk is that it won’t be for the undisputed championship.
As the saying goes, ‘The show must go on,’ and Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) will be an excellent replacement for Usyk to defend against if the fight is scheduled for February 17th. Unfortunately, if Usyk loses, there won’t be a Fury fight for him.
Fury Reveals Injury, Vows Return
“I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition. I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event, and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed.
“I can only apologize to everyone affected, including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans, as well as our hosts and my friends in Saudi Arabia.”
Usyk Considers Hrgovic
Oleksandr Usyk is planning on using Hrvovic as his opponent to save the February 17th date in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have spent a lot of money putting this event together, and it’s important to salvage the hard work that they’ve put into this.
The 2016 Olympic super heavyweight bronze medalist Hrgovic, 31, has been waiting for his chance to fight for a world title since 2022 after his victory over Zhilei Zhang, and he could be getting his chance.
Hrgovic: Ready to Step In
If the 6’5″ Hrgovic wins, we’ll see Fury face him for the undisputed championship once his injury heals. That’ll obviously delay the lucrative match-up between Fury and the winner of the March 8th clash between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou until later.
Promoter Eddie Hearn had hoped to see his fighter Joshua face Fury in December if the two won their fights, but that’s probably not going to happen.
