Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight world championship live on Sky Sports Box Office on February 17; both are undefeated, Fury is the WBC titlist and Usyk, formerly an undisputed cruiserweight champion, is the unified WBO, WBA and IBF champion
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The tension between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was evident from their first head to head as the heavyweight champions had to be held back
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s fight for the undisputed heavyweight title will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday February 17.
The ‘Ring of Fire’ fight will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is the biggest fight that can be made in boxing.
Between them, Fury and Usyk hold all four of the major heavyweight world titles, making this the most anticipated fight in 25 years.
The winner stands to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in November 1999.
Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, said: “Sky Sports is the undisputed home for sports fans, and with our long history of broadcasting the biggest bouts in boxing history, it’s only right we’re bringing the most anticipated fight in 25 years to our customers.
“With Fury v Usyk, as well as two further world championship fights on the card, it’s set to be a truly momentous occasion and we can’t wait to watch.”
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Heavyweight champion Fury has never been shy to grab the microphone and serenade his fans
Usyk, like Fury, has never lost a professional bout. Since Usyk completed his second victory over Anthony Joshua in 2022 to defend his unified WBO, WBA and IBF championships, the clamour to see him fight Fury, the WBC heavyweight titlist, has continued to grow.
The winner of their clash in Riyadh will be boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in over two decades and the first of the four-belt era.
The undercard includes Jai Opetaia v Mairis Briedis for the IBF Cruiserweight title and Joe Cordina v Anthony Cacace for the IBF super-featherweight title.
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Andy Scott and Gary Logan debate whether beating Usyk will cement Fury’s legacy as the best boxer of the modern era
The road to Fury vs Usyk
Britain’s Fury first became a unified world champion when he sensationally defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
He never lost those titles in the ring but they became vacant when he didn’t box for more than two years.
Fury made a remarkable return in 2018 and controversially drew with Deontay Wilder that year. Fury beat Wilder in a rematch to win the WBC title and triumphed again in a sensational 2021 trilogy fight.
The following year he headlined two stadium fights in London, stopping both Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora to defend his title.
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Fury says he knows Usyk can’t beat him and will stop his ‘total domination’ and believes this is the ‘fight of the century’
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, established himself alongside Fury at the top of the heavyweight tree.
An Olympic gold medallist at London 2012, he soared through the cruiserweight division, winning the World Boxing Super Series as well as going undisputed.
He stepped up to heavyweight and in 2021 dethroned Anthony Joshua to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles.
The Ukrainian defended the belts with another emphatic win over Joshua last year and beat Dubois in his only bout of 2023 in Poland, the closest he could get to a homecoming bout with the ongoing war in Ukraine.
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Fury was certainly fired up ahead of the press conference to announce his fight with Usyk and taunted a member of the Ukrainian’s team
Usyk became a renowned global figure after returning to his Ukrainian homeland when Russia invaded in February of 2022 and he continued to represent his country on a global stage when he returned to his boxing career.
In October Fury navigated his way through an unexpectedly hazardous non-title bout with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Now, on February 17 live on Sky Sports Box Office, Fury and Usyk are set decide who is the true No 1 in the division and boxing will finally get its first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
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Andy Scott and John Dennen discuss the news that Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office and agree it’s the
‘The biggest fight of our era’
Johnny Nelson, former world champion and Sky Sports pundit, said: “No mistake, no misunderstanding. There are so many options but now we will be in a position to say who is the heavyweight champion of the world.
“They are the best of the best, officially, anywhere across the board.
“Usyk was introduced to non-boxing fans when he beat Anthony Joshua, the nation’s sweetheart, twice over.
“Fury, how he has done it, from that near-death against Deontay Wilder getting back up off the floor… you have got the best fighters in the world fighting the best which is why something like this, unifying titles, doesn’t happen very often.
“But now it is happening, what a fight.”
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Matthew Macklin and Johnny Nelson gave their reaction after it was revealed that the undisputed heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will be shown live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Matthew Macklin, former world title challenger and Sky Sports pundit, said: “We are delighted we are going to be out there commentating on what is the biggest fight of our era.
“It is a fight where Fury was a big hot favourite a while back but it has closed in now and people are seeing this as more of a 50/50.
“Usyk has the majority of the belts but Fury is considered the lineal champion, he is the man who beat the man, that is the lineage.
“It is the two best fighters in the world fighting each other, it will be the undisputed champion of four belts of that era.
“All those pub debates, they will be out of the window, there will be one champion.”
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Is this the best promo ever? Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk show their acting skills!
Sourse: skysports.com
