RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Tyson Fury will face Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in the first fight this century to unify all of the major heavyweight boxing titles, Fury's promoter Frank Warren said Friday.
Fury holds the WBC version of the heavyweight title and Usyk has the IBF, WBA and WBO belts. No date was given in statements announcing the fight, which is set to be held in the Saudi Arabian capital city of Riyadh.
“This is the biggest fight that could possibly be made in our sport. The heavyweights always spark the imagination of the fans, and I have no doubt this will be the biggest boxing event of the century,” Warren said in a statement.
The last fight to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion was in 1999, when Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield. Lewis had to relinquish his WBA title the following year in a dispute over his next title defense.
Usyk (21-0) is coming off a defense against Daniel Dubois in Poland last month. The Ukrainian has beaten British opponents in all of his last four fights, including when he won his heavyweight titles off Anthony Joshua in 2021 and defended them in a rematch in Saudi Arabia the following year.
Earlier talks for a Fury-Usyk fight fell apart and Fury arranged to fight ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a non-title match in Saudi Arabia on Oct. 28. For Fury (33-0-1), that will be his first bout since beating fellow British fighter Derek Chisora in December.
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