The Fury vs Usyk heavyweight boxing match christened, Ring of Fire, is scheduled for tonight. The English WBC champion and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Ukrainian WBS, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksander Usyk are facing off for the undisputed.
The bout was initially scheduled for 17th February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury suffered a facial injury during training which forced the fight to be postponed, the next day, till the 18th of May. This is after Fury fought and defeated UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. He demanded the bout with Usyk must be postponed because of injuries he sustained in the Ngannou fight. Their December fight was scheduled again to early 2024.
Who will be the Undisputed Heavyweight champion since 2000?
The fight will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000 when Lennox Lewis was crowned. A special edition WBC Fury-Usyk belt was blessed by the Pope, the leader of the Roman Catholic faith.
“This is the third time that two undefeated champions meet for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. The first fight was the “Fight of The Century” in 1971 between Joe Fraizer and Muhammad Ali, who were also undefeated heavyweight champions when they met to decide the undisputed title, and the second fight was the June 27, 1988, between Mike Tyson and Michael Spinks, who were also undefeated heavyweight champions when they met to decide the undisputed title.” – Wikipedia
Fury, the current WBC heavyweight champion of the world, In his last fight, narrowly beat former UFC champion, Ngannou, in a split decision. It was the Cameroonian’s professional debut.
Usyk remains undefeated in his professional career. He has yet to lose since switching from cruiserweight, where he was the undisputed champion. The Ukrainian beat Joshua in their two heavyweight showdowns in September 2021 and August 2022. In his last fight, Usyk retained his IBF, WBA, and WBO world heavyweight titles when he stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.
Fury and Usyk will meet in a 12-round heavyweight clash tonight, with the ring walks for the main event expected at 11 PM UK time and 1 am on Sunday, May 19, in Saudi Arabia time.
The fight will be attended by big celebrities among them 5-time Balon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo who plays in the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr football club.
