Fury-Usyk title fight rebooked for May 18
The undisputed heavyweight title bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been rescheduled for May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Turki Alalshikh, Saudi Arabia's chairman of general authority for entertainment, announced the news Saturday on "The MMA Hour." Both Fury and Usyk appeared on the show and said they agreed to the new date.
Fury-Usyk was initially supposed to take place on Feb. 17 in Riyadh, but Fury withdrew from the fight Friday after suffering a serious cut during a sparring session that required stitches.
FURY VS USYK STATEMENT pic.twitter.com/z7nf4Q3N70
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) February 2, 2024
Alalshikh said the entire Feb. 17 event has been canceled and that the undercard fighters will be moved to the May 18 lineup "if they agree." Alalshikh added that one more major fight will be announced for the new card in the coming weeks.
Fury-Usyk will be the first undisputed heavyweight title bout since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, is coming off a split-decision win over former UFC champ Francis Ngannou in a 10-round non-title bout last October. "The Gypsy King" is 34-0-1 as a pro.
Usyk holds the WBA, IBF, and WBA heavyweight belts. The Ukrainian boxer scored a ninth-round finish of Daniel Dubois in his most recent title defense last August and holds a 21-0 pro record.