In the post-presser of the UFC’s fight event where UFC Welterweight champion Leon Edwards and former UFC champion Kamara Usman headlined, Dana White made it clear under no uncertain terms what his feelings were surrounding the continued stalled talks between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk who are expected to get into the ring on April 29.
“Welcome to boxing, boys!” Dana White said mirthfully in the post-match press conference of the UFC 286 event. “Is it shocking? Yes! Is it shocking? No!
“I mean, that IS boxing. It’s the way that sport always seems to play out. The big fights that should happen, never happen, and when they do it’s always late.“
White’s words hold an uncomfortable truth with prime examples including the likes of Floyd Mayweather and fighting Manny Pacquiao ten years after they were first expected to fight, and numerous other examples point out to the troubling trend of the best fighters not fighting each other regularly.
This especially seems the case in the modern era which has seen plenty of fights fall off the wayside. Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KO’s) and Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KO’s) were, for example, expected to face each other in an undisputed clash in the Heavyweight division several years ago, but both boxers have accumulated at least three losses since they were expected to fight one another. Though this bout may still be on the cards, interest has clearly waned since both fighters lost their championship titles.
Though the match between Gervonta Davis (28-0, 26 KO’s) and Ryan Garcia (23-0, 19 KO’s) – two household American boxing names – is currently set to occur in April, even the announcement of this fight came as a surprise to many given the nature of the sport.
Dana White also went on to explain how he had built the UFC model on actually organizing the best fights, rather than doing the opposite of what occurs in boxing today.
“That’s the stuff that used to drive me crazy as a fan, and it’s literally a part of how I designed this company to not be.” White explained. “We try to make the big fights when it’s time to make the big fights.“
Despite the questions directed to Dana White having hit at an important undercurrent of what’s wrong with boxing, the lack of an announcement of the Heavyweight undisputed fight doesn’t necessarily denote that the fight isn’t happening. Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KO’s) has already been reported to be in training camp for the fight which has been hinted to commence on the 29th of April multiple times.
It is likely that an official announcement will be made this week, and the question to White – which suggested the fight was in doubt – was more a case of a lack of research or understanding of the sport. With the fight apparently just a month away and both Heavyweights having confirmedly signed their parts of the contract, there is little to no doubt that the fight will occur as nothing has been communicated to prove otherwise.
Boxing doesn’t have a specific timetable of when fights should be announced. Usually an announcement can come just a month before the fight while the fighters are already settled into their camps, so there is little reason to doubt the eventuality of the historic Heavyweight undisputed bout occurring unless some extraordinary circumstances occur. For now, April 29 is the supposed date that we will see Tyson Fury get into the ring with Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KO’s) in a bout that will likely be staged in the UK, Fury’s home country.
