Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk does not rule out making the Tyson Fury fight later this year; However Usyk's team are concentrating on securing a mandatory title defence against Briton's Daniel Dubois next
Saturday 13 May 2023 07:17, UK
Efforts to make the undisputed heavyweight title fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Uysk later this year could restart.
But Usyk's team are currently focused on securing his next fight against another Briton, Daniel Dubois.
Dubois is the mandatory challenger for the WBA heavyweight title, one of the three major championships that Usyk holds.
The Ukrainian's promoter Alex Krassyuk told Sky Sports: "We are now concentrated on Dubois as the next step."
But responding to reports that Bob Arum, the co-promoter of WBC heavyweight champion Fury, was in talks to stage the heavyweight championship fight in Saudi Arabia, Krassyuk said: "He is saying that he had talks with Saudi people on Fury vs Usyk. Not us."
But Krassyuk did not rule out the possibility of that fight still taking place, noting: "Everything else is possible after Usyk wins."
Usyk defeated Anthony Joshua in London in 2021 to win the WBA, WBO and IBF titles. After serving on the frontlines in Ukraine when Russia invaded in his country, the heavyweight champion returned to the sport to beat Joshua in a high-profile rematch last year.
But with Fury, who beat Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in two stadium fights last year, unbeaten and reigning as the WBC titlist, it would take a fight between the two to decide the world's undisputed heavyweight leader.
In depth negotiations were under way between Fury's and Usyk's teams to make that fight earlier this year, only for those talks to collapse publicly with each side blaming the other.
It left Usyk looking for an alternative opponent for his next fight.
London's Dubois, who came through an exciting bout with Kevin Lerena on the undercard of Fury's last contest, is in prime position to challenge Usyk next.
Dubois has a 'regular' WBA title, a secondary belt to the full world championship that Usyk holds but which makes him the mandatory challenger for Usyk. Those discussions are still ongoing with no date or venue confirmed yet for Usyk vs Dubois.
There has been no clear indication yet on what Fury's next fight will be, although when China's Zhilei Zhang upset Joe Joyce last month he advanced his own case for consideration.
Joyce though activated the rematch clause in his contract with Zhang, as he hopes to restore himself to the top end of the heavyweight division.
Boxing, particularly heavyweight boxing, remains as unpredictable outside the ropes as it is inside the ring.
