Mike CoppingerESPNO Oct 31, 2023 6:34pm ET4 minutes read
Fury: Ngannou “one of the toughest fights” of the last decade
Tyson Fury praises Francis Ngannou for his performance in their fight, describing it as his toughest of the last decade.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February, sources told ESPN.
Fury-Usyk was scheduled for December 23 before Fury took on former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a tougher-than-expected bout on Saturday in Riyadh. Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) was injured in the forehead and left eye en route to a split decision win over Ngannou, who was making his professional boxing debut.
The 35-year-old Fury was even eliminated in round 3, the seventh defeat of his illustrious career.
Fury and Usyk signed contracts for their long-awaited fight for heavyweight supremacy weeks before “The Gyspy King” stepped through the ropes to face Ngannou in a 10-round non-title bout.
After the decision was announced, Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) entered the ring to face Fury and set up their showdown.
“23. December, I’m ready to fight,” said Usyk, who got into the ring after the decision. “Let’s go now if you want,” said Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion. “…He is a smaller man than Francis. I have always said that Francis is a much more dangerous fighter than Oleksandr.”
The day before the fight, Usyk posted on Instagram: “Francis, be careful with Tyson, I need him in the ring on December 23rd.” But now Usyk has to wait another two months to finally get his hands on Fury.
Fury and Usyk were close to meeting at London’s Wembley Stadium last April before talks collapsed at the eleventh hour.
Despite being knocked down in the third round, Tyson Fury (right) managed to earn a split decision victory over former UFC star Francis Ngannou on Saturday evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Usyk, 36, is an Olympic gold medalist and former undisputed cruiserweight champion. The Ukrainian holds the WBA, WBO and IBF titles, belts he won from Anthony Joshua in 2021. Usyk retained the titles in the rematch with another decisive nod over Joshua last summer in Saudi Arabia.
Since the fight against Fury will now take place in 2024, it is ensured that Usyk will get by with just one fight for another year. The last time Usyk fought multiple times in a year: 2018, when he competed three times.
He last fought in August, when he scored a ninth-round knockout of Daniel Dubois in Poland. Usyk is ESPN’s No. 2 heavyweight and No. 3 pound-for-pound boxer. Fury entered the fight ranked No. 1 heavyweight and No. 6 pound-for-pound. England’s Fury fought twice last year, both winning by TKO in football stadiums in London (against Dilian Whyte in April and Derek Chisora in December).
This is Fury’s second title reign. He defeated another Ukrainian, Wladimir Klitschko, for three heavyweight titles by decision in an upset in 2015. Fury never defended these titles and was forced out of the ring for two and a half years due to depression and substance abuse. During this time he weighed over 400 pounds.
After returning from this break, Fury established himself as one of boxing’s top stars with a classic heavyweight title trilogy with Deontay Wilder, whom he stopped twice after a draw in their first meeting. Fury’s third fight with Wilder was ESPN’s 2021 Fight of the Year and KO of the Year.
The Fury-Usyk deal contains a two-way rematch clause, effectively ensuring two consecutive fights between the two for tens of millions of dollars.