April 20, 2024
Source: Boxing Scene
Photo Source: Boxing Scene
With less than a month until the twice-rescheduled undisputed heavyweight world title fight between Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) and Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) is set to finally take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk still has some doubts about whether the fight will go ahead.
“I saw Tyson Fury gather the media together at home for a final requiem to say goodbye to his WBC belt,” Krassyuk told BoxingScene. “They couldn’t admit it directly so they had to perform with some confidence.
“Usyk has no problem with his confidence, he feels no pressure. When he is in camp, he does nothing else but focus on his training. He doesn’t think about his opponent, he doesn’t go on Instagram, he doesn’t do anything. He reads books, he trains, he talks to his family and friends, he eats, he sleeps, a bit of rest, then back to training. That’s his routine 2-3 months before a fight. There is no pressure for Usyk. He has the concrete mentality of a champion.”
Fury was initially due to put his WBC title on the line against Usyk’s WBA, WBO and IBF belts in December last year, but a tough night against MMA star Francis Ngannou in October saw the fight rescheduled for February. A cut to Fury in sparring again disrupted the first undisputed heavyweight champion being crowned since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Nov. 11, 1999. Fury has maintained his hold on the WBC belt throughout.
“Usyk has actually had a triple camp for this fight,” Krassyuk said. “He started in September for the fight to take place last December. We showed up to the Ngannou fight to step in the ring to announce the fight for the undisputed, but his team jumped and said he didn’t look that good, so Usyk gave him some space to prepare at his camp in Saudi Arabia. We were then meant to fight on Feb. 17, then we were rescheduled for May. Tyson Fury has withdrawn four times already from this fight. Remember that we were looking to fight last April; he pulled out of it then, too. That’s why we fought Daniel Dubois. This will be the fourth camp we have had for Tyson Fury.
“I’ve not got too much confidence in the rematch happening, by the way. If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to step inside the ring again? Theoretically he can, but we all know what happened in the rematch with Wladimir Klitschko.”
A contingency plan is in place that will see Usyk still enter the ring on May 18, while also being further financially compensated if Fury doesn’t show in Riyadh. However, the chance at becoming a two-weight undisputed world champion would continue to elude the Ukrainian.
“That’s why we worked out this Lapin Rule,” Krassyuk said. “Sergey Lapin is Usyk’s coach, which means that Tyson Fury will have to pay a £10 million [pound] fine if he withdraws. This was made to avoid the fifth withdrawal. Let's just pray he puts on his headgear when he spars – not like last time, when he was cut in sparring. The cut was real, but the video – I don’t trust it. I think Tyson Fury didn’t wear headgear and got cut, but this is my opinion. I have no proof. It’s my hunch.
“The IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic will be the replacement if [Fury] does it again. He is getting ready for Daniel Dubois on June 1, but instead he will have to be ready on May 18 to replace Tyson for any reason. Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title. It was one of our conditions. The game is about being undisputed. It’s not about money – it’s about heritage, about glory.
Tyson Fury says he doesn’t care about that, but at the press conference he was saying, ‘Wow, the IBF, the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the Ring Magazine, the undisputed, the lineal,’ which I’ve never heard of."
The blossoming partnership between Fury and Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, will have Usyk head to Saudi Arabia (which has essentially become Fury’s backyard) rather than neutral territory.
“I can’t disagree with you,” Krassyuk said of the development, “but I can’t say that people are trying to do anything bad to us to give him some kind of advantage. That isn’t true, Turki Alalshikh is an honorable man. He’s a boxing fan and he has the right to choose his favorite in the fight and who he will be cheering on. It’s normal for anybody, but it shouldn’t affect the conducting of the fight and officiating of the fight. We have taken care of all the details so we get fair judging, but ask me this on the morning of the 19th.
“Let me be clear, though: This is all very normal to us. It’s even more convenient for Usyk. Remember the first fight with Anthony Joshua in London, when we came and nobody gave Usyk a chance? People couldn’t believe that he could beat AJ; people who knew boxing did, but normal fans who watch boxing from time to time, they were quite confident Usyk was too small.
“They are saying the same thing here, but they don’t understand there are some very important things standing behind Usyk. There are some things that are inside his heart that not too many people are aware about. These are the extraordinary characteristics that made him the undisputed cruiserweight and will make him the undisputed heavyweight.”
Saudi Arabia has aggressively pursued much of the U.K.’s sporting culture since the country has opened up. British pastimes such as soccer, darts, golf and boxing have all seen a migration toward the Middle East.
“Turki Alalshikh called into the press conference to say that British fighters are the best in the world,” Krassyuk said, “but he didn’t mention that the future undisputed heavyweight champion will be Ukrainian. The perception of Britain outside of Britain is probably different to how people perceive living inside. It’s an imperialist country with a very deep history, a very strong history, with strong traditions. It’s actually the homeland of boxing, so there are many things that are very attractive about the country.”
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