Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s struggle for the undisputed heavyweight title can be broadcast stay on Sky Sports activities Field Workplace on Saturday February 17.
The ‘Ring of Hearth’ struggle will happen on the Kingdom Area in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and is the largest struggle that may be made in boxing.
Between them, Fury and Usyk maintain all 4 of the most important heavyweight world titles, making this probably the most anticipated struggle in 25 years.
The winner stands to change into the primary undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in November 1999.
Sky Sports activities Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, mentioned: “Sky Sports activities is the undisputed house for sports activities followers, and with our lengthy historical past of broadcasting the largest bouts in boxing historical past, it is solely proper we’re bringing probably the most anticipated struggle in 25 years to our prospects.
“With Fury v Usyk, as well as two further world championship fights on the card, it’s set to be a truly momentous occasion and we can’t wait to watch.”
Usyk, like Fury, has by no means misplaced an expert bout. Since Usyk accomplished his second victory over Anthony Joshua in 2022 to defend his unified WBO, WBA and IBF championships, the clamour to see him struggle Fury, the WBC heavyweight titlist, has continued to develop.
The winner of their conflict in Riyadh can be boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in over 20 years and the primary of the four-belt period.
The undercard contains Jai Opetaia v Mairis Briedis for the IBF Cruiserweight title and Joe Cordina v Anthony Cacace for the IBF super-featherweight title.
The street to Fury vs Usyk
Britain’s Fury first grew to become a unified world champion when he sensationally defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
He by no means misplaced these titles within the ring however they grew to become vacant when he did not field for greater than two years.
Fury made a outstanding return in 2018 and controversially drew with Deontay Wilder that yr. Fury beat Wilder in a rematch to win the WBC title and triumphed once more in a sensational 2021 trilogy struggle.
The next yr he headlined two stadium fights in London, stopping each Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora to defend his title.
In the meantime, Oleksandr Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, established himself alongside Fury on the high of the heavyweight tree.
An Olympic gold medallist at London 2012, he soared via the cruiserweight division, profitable the World Boxing Tremendous Sequence in addition to going undisputed.
He stepped as much as heavyweight and in 2021 dethroned Anthony Joshua to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles.
The Ukrainian defended the belts with one other emphatic win over Joshua final yr and beat Dubois in his solely bout of 2023 in Poland, the closest he may get to a homecoming bout with the continuing struggle in Ukraine.
Usyk grew to become a famend international determine after returning to his Ukrainian homeland when Russia invaded in February of 2022 and he continued to symbolize his nation on a world stage when he returned to his boxing profession.
In October Fury navigated his approach via an unexpectedly hazardous non-title bout with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Now, on February 17 stay on Sky Sports activities Field Workplace, Fury and Usyk are set resolve who’s the true No 1 within the division and boxing will lastly get its first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.