Filip Hrgovic has stepped up to offer to face unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 to replace injured Tyson Fury, who was forced to pull out of the event due to an injury.
Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) doesn’t want to waste all his training for the Fury fight, so he’s interested in staying on the February 17th date, provided a suitable opponent is found in time.
Hrgovic Seizes the Opportunity
Usyk’s IBF mandatory Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) says he’ll take the fight, saying this:
“Now that Fury has gotten injured, I’m ready to step in and fight Usyk. Let’s go, Usyk; you owe me my mandatory shot. It’s time to finally face me,” said Filip Hrgovic to Mike Coppinger on X, volunteering to step in for the injured Tyson Fury to challenge IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on February 17th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Hrgovic has earned his title shot against Usyk by defeating Zhilei Zhang and Demsey Mckean. Now, the question is if the fight can be negotiated in time to use him as an opponent. With the huge money the Saudis have, it shouldn’t be an issue getting Hrgovic for the card as long as Usyk is on board with using him on short notice.
Should Fury be Stripped?
“He doesn’t want to miss this February 17th date, especially when there’s no guarantee that Fury is going to be ready to go at any time in the near future,” said Chris Mannix on his YouTube channel.
Fury’s injury makes it difficult to pinpoint when he’ll be ready to return to the ring to fight for the undisputed championship. One perfect solution would be for the World Boxing Council to strip Fury and assign him the ‘Champion in Recess’ tag, which would free up his WBC belt to be fought over for the Usyk vs. Hrgovic fight.
Will the February 17th Date Be Saved?
“The fights off for now. Bad cut for Tyson Fury. Usyk is trying to save the date. We’ll see if that’s able to come to fruition. Let’s hope. That’s disappointing for boxing fans, but let’s hope this fight gets scheduled for sometime in 2024 because we need an undisputed champion.
“We need a resolution for Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rivalry,” said Mannix.
