By: Sean Cross
WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has made it clear that he wants to fight Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Wrath, after all, is the WBC and Lineage Heavyweight Champion of the World. Usyk is well aware that to become the heavyweight king of the hill, he must first go through Fury. Therefore, the desire to meet the top Englishman in the ring. Usyk’s last fight was his second impressive victory over Anthony Joshua, who won the heavyweight title a year ago. Fury was last seen in the ring defeating longtime rival Dillian Witt.
“Right now my team is looking to talk to Tyson Fury, and he’s a really unpredictable guy, so we can’t guarantee when,” Usyk said during a webinar in Libsen. Fury is currently set to fight another long-time rival, Derek Chisora, in England next month. It will be the third battle between the two men. Fury won the first and second, and has people wondering if he will fight Chisora again. Fury, on the other hand, is thought to be looking to get busy after negotiations over a high-profile fight with Joshua recently broke down.
“For me, the idea is probably to fight in early February or early March, like March 4, because I’m an Orthodox Christian,” Usyk said. That means Usyk’s time is limited for the early 2023 fightback. “I don’t fight during the great fast before Easter,” Usik said, “so everything has to be before or after the Orthodox Easter.” Orthodox Easter will be on April 16 next year. While it’s easy to understand why Usyk wanted to face the wrath so quickly, he went ahead and clarified his thinking.
“I want to fight Fury because I want the fourth belt and I don’t want to fight anyone until I get the fourth belt.” For what it’s worth, Usyk believes the Fury-Chisora fight is ridiculous. “I don’t know why he needs this fight,” he said. But there’s no doubt that Fury has one thing in common with Usyk – a desire to be uncontested. The legendary Lennox Lewis was the last man to enjoy being the undisputed heavyweight champion. There hasn’t been an undefeated champion in the heavyweight division since 2000 – 22 years ago. Suffice to say it’s been a while.
