By: Sean Cross
Oleksandr Usyk is currently in the United States, at least in part to raise money for his war-torn homeland of Ukraine. On Saturday, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweights turned out at Theater Madison Square Garden to watch compatriot Vasyl Lomachenko fight Jamaine Ortiz in the main event of the ESPN+ broadcast. Speaking with ESPN’s Mark Krigal, 20-0 multi-titleist Usyk was asked about heavyweight kingpin, WBC and lineal champion Tyson Fury, who is set to fight longtime rival Derrick Chisora for the third time this December. Usic, via manager Egis Klimas, said: “I was a little bit amused about it. “Why does he do this?”
Usyk then made it clear that he believes he and Fury are ready to fight in the near future. “I think we agreed with him,” he said of Fury, “and now he’s running around telling me he doesn’t want to fight.” When Krygal questioned Usyk, Usyk couldn’t have been more clear that Fury was running away from him. “i know that.” Of course, this kind of talk is common in the fighting game. In fact, trash talking has always been a part of the sport, or at least since the late 1800s. Usyk, however, is not known to run his mouth.
Still, Usyk didn’t try to write off Fury’s abilities as a fighter. “He’s dangerous,” he said of the towering Englishman. “He’s big, he’s huge, he’s so talented. He knows what to do in the ring. He is dangerous.” Usyk finally appeared a little wary of facing Wrath in the ring. “Yes, I want to fight him, and we should unify all the titles. So when does Usyk feel the feud with Fury is going to end?” “I think in late February, early March,” he said.
A clash with Usyk would make all the sense in the world if Chisora gets the better of them in their early December matchup. In fact, it is the only fight that makes sense for every fighter. After all, the winner becomes the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Still, it’s worth noting that a lot can happen between the first quarter of 2023. The fact that Usyk’s home country is embroiled in a bloody war with Russia bears dark testimony to this fact. Sometimes even an undisputed heavyweight title match needs to be watched.
