Oleksandr Usyk will defend his world heavyweight titles against Tyson Fury after their rematch is officially set for December 21, 2024. After the defeat in Saudi Arabia, “The Gypsy King” had the right to return to the ring with his Ukrainian counterpart, according to the contract.
The clash between the fighting pairs on May 18 was one of the most anticipated fights of a generation as Usyk ultimately emerged victorious to become the first unified world champion in the weight class since Lennox Lewis. Now the opponents will battle again, and the Christmas pageant is approaching.
The rematch clause has previously been widely discussed after promoter Frank Warren confirmed that Fury would be keen to fight again the man who once again dealt him the first defeat of his career. Earlier the former said Heavenly sports:”I talked with him [Fury] after the fight and of course when he came back to make sure he was okay. He was very disappointed, but very philosophical.”
Riyad will once again be the venue for the fight, which will be part of the highly anticipated season in Riyad, the Gulf state. It appears that only the WBO, WBA and WBC belts will be at stake in Saudi Arabia if Usyk is to be stripped of his IBF honors in due course.
This side narrative emerged after the Ukrainian’s breakthrough victory when a rematch with Fury meant he might have to give up the belt. According to reports, this has to do with Filip Hrgovic’s mandatory challenger, with the Croatian scheduled to fight Daniel Dubois on June 1. Usyk also filed an appeal with the IBF, hoping for a ruling in his favor.
His split decision victory over Fury came as the judges scored the fight 115-112 (Usyk), 114-113 (Fury) 114-113 (Usyk) to secure the 37-year-old’s place in history among the great champions of the past. However, his overnight opponent was adamant that it was unfortunate that he lost the fight.
The Briton told DAZN: “I think I won the fight. I think he won a few rounds, but I won most of them. I think we both fought a good fight – as best as we could. know that his country is at war. People stand on the side of a country at war. Make no mistake, I think I won this fight.
On Twitter/X, Saudi official Turki Alalshikh confirmed that the rematch will take place at the end of the year: “The rematch between Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and Champion Tyson Fury is currently scheduled for December 21, 2024 in Riyad.” Season. The world will once again watch another historic fight… Our commitment to boxing fans continues… We hope you enjoy it.”
Previously, promoter Warren spoke positively about Fury’s chances of revenge for his sobering defeat in Riyad earlier this month. He said: “I think he can, he believes he can. The truth is the fight had its moment, I think at the end of the seventh round, when he caught Usyk with some really good uppercuts and he was struggling a little bit, but he went back to the corner, found his second wind, came out and caught Tyson with a really good shot. in the nose.
“It seemed to disturb Tyson a little bit, took away his momentum a little bit. Of course, we know what happened in the ninth period. It was a fight of two halves, Tyson knows what he has to do and I’m sure Usyk knows it. Both of these guys were involved in an absolute war that took a lot out of both of them. It will be engaging to see, when this happens, who has been most impacted.