Oleksandr Usyk Says Fear Would Prevent an Undisputed Bout with Tyson Fury
On August 20, unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KO’s) will collide with Anthony Joshua in a high stakes rematch. In their premiere encounter on September 25, 2021, Usyk defeated Joshua by way of unanimous decision and lifted his Super WBA, WBO and IBF titles off of him in the process.
Once these two men handle their business in August, the winner will only be one belt away from being crowned undisputed. That last title, the WBC belt, is held by Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (32-0-1, 23 KO’s). Unfortunately, Fury maintains that he is a retired fighter. Technically, The Gypsy King has left a glimmer of hope that he’ll return…but it’s not much! This is because the WBC champion said that he’ll return to the ring if and only if someone puts up $500,000,000 for him to do it.
SHOW ME THE MONEY!
Naturally, Usyk was not thrilled to learn of Fury’s hefty financial stipulation to return to the ring. At the same time, the talented Ukrainian didn’t take it all that seriously. Yet, if Fury is genuine, as he told IFL TV, Usyk believes that fear is the underlying rationale.
“Tyson says that he doesn’t want to fight me because I am not on his level; that is because he is afraid of me! […] he is probably kidding! Five hundred million, who would give him five hundred million?!”
Judging by the current scene, there is no telling how this situation will resolve itself. It’s a well known fact that retired boxers come back more than Marvel comic characters return from the dead. Said to say, it would not be a shock to most if Fury did slide back through the ropes for another fight or few. First however, Usyk must take care of business versus Joshua or else this whole topic will become a moot point. So, let’s see what goes down on August 20.
Reading Time: 2 minutes
By: Bakari Simpson
