Oleksandr Usyk and his promoter Alex Krassyuk have responded to suggestions of a postponement of his fight with Tyson Fury by insisting that they expect the date of December 23 to be honoured.
The combination of how unexpectedly difficult Fury found Saturdayโs fight with the mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou, on the occasion of Ngannouโs professional debut, and the disappointing condition in which Fury arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has most recently led to Furyโs promoter Frank Warren saying that Fury-Usyk will instead take place in 2024.
With Usyk and Krassyuk in attendance Fury was knocked down in the third round before being awarded a controversial split decision via scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95. Warren is adamant that Fury remains committed to what โ particularly on the evidence provided by Ngannou โย could prove the most difficult date of his career and that he therefore โneeds protecting him from himselfโ and a period of rest before a more effective training camp.
Usyk, who had already started preparing for December 23ย and his most difficult opponent in Spain, has regardless reminded Fury of the contract he signed to fight himย โ and Krassyuk that Fury risks โlegal consequencesโ if he does not.
โIt has to take place on the 23rd of December, in Riyadh, in Saudi Arabia,โ the Ukrainian, at 36 narrowly older than his 35-year-old rival, said. โWe have it in contract โ on paper.
โIt did disturb me [watching Fury-Ngannou unfold]. It did disturb me โ I was worried a lot. [But] I would give a maximum of three rounds to Ngannou.
โFrank Warren used to talk a lot of things, blaming me for something that never happened. And, you know what? We have a contract โย and the contract says that the fight has to take place on the 23rd of December, no matter what.โ
It was announced after confirmation of Fury-Ngannou that Fury had also since signed to fight Usyk in what remains the most significant fight that can be made. His doing so followed lengthy periods of speculation and frustration stemming from their previous negotiations coming to little, and Krassyuk โย who scored him the winner over Ngannou by a point โย said: โIn his mind he can [delay the fight], but legally heโs obliged to fight Oleksandr on the 23rd. He will suffer legal consequences.
โIf we are responsible โ by โweโ I mean our team and Furyโs team โย if we are responsible people and we keep our word, and we keep what we have signed on paper, we have to comply with what is on paper. The world wants to see the undisputed heavyweight championship, not just the clash between Tyson and Usyk. They want to see the fight between Tyson and Usyk for the undisputed [title]. Thatโs what has to happen on the 23rd.
โIf you listen to what my colleague Frank Warren started to say in the media, and immediately in the ring, they are thinking of extending the time for Tyson. But this fight was made between the fighters, not between the promoters.
โThis fight was made by Tysonโs manager and Usykโs manager, where they met first in New York, and then we all came to London and agreed on the conditions. Egis Klimas is Oleksandr Usykโs manager, and Spencer Brown is Tyson Furyโs manager. So it was Tysonโs decision, and he gave his consent for the 23rd, because he wanted to fight as frequently as possible.
โThough we respect Fury as the [WBC] champ, we canโt really claim heโs a man of his word, according to what we had in the past. The good thing is that we have it on paper. Of course he can use any kind of excuse โ that he got injured; he got cut; he got tired, or whatever โ but this is the point where the commitment has to be executed.โ