In a highly anticipated bout that aimed to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were poised to face off in the ring.
The much-anticipated clash was scheduled for February 17. But the WBC champion suffered a significant cut above his right eye, leading to the postponement of the match with a yet-to-be-confirmed new timeline.
The swirling rumors surrounding the injury have added a layer of drama to the situation. Speculations range from Tyson Fury requesting a sparring partner to inflict the cut deliberately to wild theories of self-infliction to evade facing Usyk.
Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn dismissed these suggestions, calling the injury a “complete freak accident.”
In an interview with SecondsOut, Hearn addressed the controversy. He scoffed at the notion that Fury orchestrated the injury intentionally.
Hearn stated, “What you’re ultimately implying, not you, but other people, is that Tyson Fury has asked someone to cut him open with a knife on his eye to avoid a fight. Which is absolutely ridiculous. Tyson Fury spars with an open head-guard, but he’s done it all his career, and many, many rounds. It looks like a complete freak injury.”
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk now find themselves compelled to reschedule their undisputed heavyweight title clash due to the unexpected injury suffered by the WBC champion. The new timeline for the rescheduled match is now May 18th in Saudi Arabia.
Usyk apparently was unfazed by the news of Fury’s injury, as per insights shared by the Ukrainian’s manager, Egis Klimas.
Michael Benson reported Klimas saying, “When the news was brought to Oleksandr, he just smiled. That is all he did. He is too mentally strong to break.”
Heavyweight boxer Filip Hrgovich has thrown his hat into the ring, offering to step up on short notice to replace Fury. But considering that the rescheduled match is set to take place with a pullout clause, it seems like Fury vs Usyk is still on in May.