The undisputed heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is set to commence on February 17th, 2024, as revealed on Thursday, November 16th, in a launch press conference held in London between the two fighters and their teams. Saudi Arabia will be the destination of choice for this unprecedented heavyweight match-up, which, for the first time in history, will involve all four belts of the major sanctioning bodies.
December 23rd had been considered as a potential date for the two heavyweights after the announcement that both had signed contracts to face each other. However, this date fell through, seemingly due to Tyson Fury’s (34-0-1, 24 KO’s) October 28th bout against Francis Ngannou (0-1, 0 KO’s), where Fury won after a tough contest against the Cameroonian MMA heavyweight.
With the originally speculated fight date now confirmed for next year, Fury and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KO’s) will headline one of boxing’s most anticipated showdowns, with the winner set to claim all four of the available world titles. Fury will put his WBC heavyweight title on the line against WBA, WBO, and IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk, aiming to overcome the embarrassment of his closer-than-anticipated bout with Francis Ngannou and make history. The Ring lineal heavyweight title, currently held by Usyk, will also be on the line next year.
Both heavyweights boast unbeaten records, which will also be on the line alongside their titles. The magnitude of this match is enormous, given that it will be the first undisputed heavyweight fight to involve all four belts and the first heavyweight undisputed showdown since Lennox Lewis last captured all three of the available world titles against Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Usyk would become the first Ukrainian heavyweight to become undisputed in the history of the sport if he claims victory, while Fury could become the second British heavyweight to earn this distinction, next to Lewis himself.
The Kingdom Arena, located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, will host this historic match-up. If both Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KO’s) and Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KO’s) make it past their opponents on December 23rd, the February 17th fight card might also include a highly-anticipated bout between the aforementioned fighters, potentially setting up a fight card that may yet surpass any other boxing event observed since the inception of the sport.
