Days ahead of the historic fight, things are heating up, what with Tyson Fury's father head-butting Oleksandr Usyk's team member at a press event. Here is a comprehensive guide for the mouthwatering undisputed heavyweight championship
There are multiple reasons to get excited for the upcoming fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday (May 18, 2024), but the biggest one is without doubt the fact that it will be the first undisputed heavyweight title contest in 24 years. (More Sports News)
The historic fight for all the heavyweight titles is set to unravel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the form of a four-belt unification between Tyson and Usyk, both of whom are unbeaten champions. The heavyweight titans will face off in the main event of a pay-per-view card from Kingdom Arena.
This will be the first of two likely fights between Fury and Usyk this year. The British Fury is the heavyweight lineal and WBC champion, while Ukraine's Usyk holds the WBO, WBA and IBF titles.
Days ahead of the fight, things are already heating up, what with Fury's father John head-butting Usyk's team member at a press event. In a full-blown scuffle, John was standing face-to-face with one member of Usyk's team before being separated. John then could be seen ramming his head into another member of the Ukrainian's entourage.
Fury's father ended up with a cut on his forehead and blood flowing down his face, while security staff then tackled the situation. Tyson himself wasn't in the room when the incident occurred and could be heard asking his father: "How did you cut yourself like that?"
Later, John reportedly apologised for his actions. "Sincere apologies to everybody involved. It's just the way we are. Emotions and tensions are running high. He was a very disrespectful fella. If you come close in a fighting man's space, you're gonna cop for something," John Fury told Seconds Out Boxing.
"What matters to me is respect for my son, and he wasn't showing any of it. He mentioned my son and that was it, so he had to have it. It doesn't bother me [bleeding], it's what we live for, we're fighting people. That's a regular occurrence to me," he added.
Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury: Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis: IBF Cruiserweight Championship
Joe Cordina vs Anthony Cacace: IBF Super Featherweight Championship
Agit Kabayel vs Frank Sanchez: Heavyweight
Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab: Lightweight
Sergey Kovalev vs Robin Sirwan Safar: Light Heavyweight
Isaac Lowe vs Hasibullah Ahmadi: Featherweight
David Nyika vs Michael Seitz: Cruiserweight
Moses Itauma vs Ilja Mezencev: Heavyweight
The main card for the much-awaited event will begin at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 9:30pm IST. The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight will unfold at 3:35am IST on Sunday, May 19.
The undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will be live streamed in India on a pay-per-view (PPV) basis on the DAZN platform. The fight will not be telecast on any TV channel.