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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's heavyweight world title fight is off – at least for now.
After years of speculation and negotiations, the pair the entire world wanted to see fight looked to have agreed to a deal which would see them face off in the ring later this year on December 23. However, it has now been reported the fight is now off.
Promoter Frank Warren has confirmed the December date is off the cards. While the fight has been agreed to, and will most likely go ahead at a later date, Fury and Usyk will not face off in two months time – in part to allow 'The Gypsy King's' body time to recover after his bout with Francis Ngannou.
READ MORE: Tyson Fury escapes shock upset as Francis Ngannou is robbed of win after knock down
READ MORE: Angry boxing fans say 'system is rigged' as Tyson Fury beats Ngannou despite knockdown
"It will go ahead but it will not be on the 23rd," Warren said following Fury's controversial Saturday night win over UFC star Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. "It was crazy for some people to suggest that it could still go ahead on the 23rd.
"He is 35-years-old and has just done a 12-week training camp and has just been in a tough fight. He needs a break with his family, he needs to switch off and we will announce the date when we are ready. But the fight is signed. The fight will happen. It will happen early in the new year, late January or February. That will be up to Tyson, it is his body.
"Fury said in the ring that he would fight on the 23rd – and he would do it – but he needs protecting from himself and that’s my job."
Heading into his fight against Ngannou, Fury likened the prospective bout to a table tennis player going up against Novak Djokovic. However, when Ngannou delivered a knockdown blow to Fury in the third round, it looked as though Ngannou had been cast in the role of Djokovic.
The UFC fighter, who was making his boxing debut, stunned the world by producing a performance few were expecting, going the distance with Fury. He even looked to have won the fight by the eye-test, only for the judges to see differently when it came to the announcement of their scores – with Fury winning via split decision.
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And his performance against Fury also came as a shock to Warren as well. The hall-of-fame promoter added: "Ngannou was much better than people expected him to be. He can box. As soon as he shaped up I thought 'f***ing hell this kid can box'.
"People were talking like Ngannou was some sort of nerd, f***ing computer nerd, fighting in a joke fight. But he is a proper fighter whose background is coming from Africa, a tough b******d through and through.
"I didn’t think he would be able to adapt to highest-level boxing at 37 but I got that wrong, because he f***ing did, didn’t he."
- Tyson Fury
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Boxing
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