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Fury and Usyk agree to undisputed heavyweight championship clash PhilBoxing.com Fri, 23 Dec 2022 The most eagerly anticipated heavyweight bout of the modern era could finally happen, after Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury agreed to a genuine clash of boxing titans. While the pact is only provisional at the moment, it would be the first such unification of all the major titles in more than two decades, getting fans excited about the chance to witness an awesome spectacle. There have only been five undisputed heavyweight champions in boxing history, and the last one to achieve that honour did so twenty-two years ago, when Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield on 13 November 1999. That grueling encounter was a rematch between the two giants of the scene back then, having fought what resulted in a controversial draw earlier that year, held at Madison Square Garden on 13 March 1999. By winning the very last undisputed heavyweight bout of the 20th century, Lennox Lewis retained his WBC belt, won the vacant IBO title, and claimed both the WBA and IBF titles from Evander Holyfield. Since then, mostly due to the difficulty of achieving the feat, and the inevitable politics of organising such an event, nobody else has unified all four major heavyweight boxing titles. But now, according to Sky Sports News, boxing fans will finally get the opportunity to witness the next unification. What’s more, the report claims that Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are prioritising this blockbuster event, having agreed to fight each other next, without facing any other opponents in the meantime. This breakthrough in talks is based upon comments from promoter Bob Arum. “The two fighters have agreed to fight each other next,” Arum assured journalists from the British media outlet. “With Fury and Usyk we’re dealing with adults, not a lot of [rubbish] back and forth,” he insisted, confident there will be no setbacks ahead of confirming final dates, which is the next step ahead of any further announcements. “Both of them want the fight and so there’ll be very little, if any, messing around,” underlined Arum of Top Rank, the American company that co-promotes Fury with Queensberry Promotions in the United Kingdom. He also added that “Usyk is a good friend of mine, he’s very intelligent and Tyson is Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect.” Arum also underlined an important detail regarding the agreement, insisting the two boxers would meet “without any interim fights” in the meantime, as they focus attention towards finalising the date and location of this highly anticipated contest. While those two important details have yet to be confirmed, “the fight is definitely going to happen, and it will happen in the first four months of next year,” he concluded. Given this thrilling turn of events, leading online bookmakers are already beginning to publish odds, although they can vary significantly depending on where punters look. But via the latest assessment covering the best boxing betting websites, fans can get reliable and trusted feedback, alongside comparing odds value and promotions ahead of upcoming bouts. Experts at Arabian Betting also provide boxing betting tips, aimed at helping readers be profitable. But as every follower of boxing is already aware, confirming such incredibly high-profile fights can be fraught with complexities, especially when so much is on the line for those involved. Even more so when all four of the major sanctioning bodies must also approve, aside from the boxers and promoters thrashing out financial terms, which is arguably why we haven’t seen these belts unified by one boxer for so long. And on the very same day that promoter Bob Arum was filled with enthusiasm and confidence, there were also words of caution from the Usyk camp, following additional reports. According to the Manchester Evening News, the fight may not happen unless a new deadline is met. This comes from Alexander Krassyuk, the promoter of Usyk, who suggested that negotiations are indeed progressing well, albeit with some important caveats about the discussion of dates. “This fight happens until 4 March or it never happens,” insisted Krassyuk, explaining the position of his client, amidst speculation that February dates would be ideal for both the Usyk and Fury camps. Anything later would potentially be problematic, insofar as Usyk is concerned, hence the growing sense of urgency to get something finalised in the calendar. Right now, the Middle East is also being touted as the location for this heavyweight unification, although Usyk’s promoter Krassyuk doesn’t have too many concerns about that. “Any place in the universe” will do for Usyk, said Krassyuk, even with the Fury camp hopeful they can lock down an important venue in the United Kingdom, already fancying Wembley Stadium in London as the ideal place for such an important event. |
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