The highly anticipated bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk no longer airs live from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, February 17. The contest for the undisputed heavyweight title fell off after one half of the main event got injured at training.
British WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) was forced to withdraw from his scheduled for this month bout against Ukraine’s unified WBA, WBO and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) after sustaining a cut during a sparring session. As a result, the fight set to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in almost 24 years has been postponed.
“WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury has been forced to postpone his fight with unified Champion Oleksandr Usyk after sustaining a freak cut during a sparring session in Riyadh,” reads Queensberry Promotions’ statement posted on X. “The cut, which opened above Fury’s right eye, required urgent medical attention and significant stitching, and will obviously require a period of recovery, scuppering any possibility of the fight with Usyk taking place on 17th February in Saudi Arabia.”
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk is expected to happen on a new date
“Whilst this is still breaking news it is clearly a massive disappointment, after the work has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world,” a spokesperson said”. Once the Doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed. Once known we will work diligently will all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everyone updated with developments.”
35-year-old Tyson Fury of Manchester, England apologised to everyone involved, stating he would also “work diligently towards the rescheduled date”.
“I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition,” reads the statement. “I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed. I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
The Fury vs Usyk pay-per-view had its price revealed this week. DAZN announced via a post on X that those who had already purchased the PPV would be “proactively” refunded.
“DAZN will proactively reimburse anyone who has already purchased the fight. You do not need to take any action.”
As of writing, a statement from Oleksandr Usyk of Simferopol, Crimea, Ukraine is yet to be published on the 37-year-old southpaw’s social media.