The undisputed heavyweight event between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury has been rescheduled for May 18th, according to the head of the General Entertainment Authority (GEA), Turki Alalshikh/Al-Sheikh. Alongside the headlining heavyweight bout, the rest of the undercard matches that had been set for the card have also been rescheduled towards May 18th.
Yesterday, news broke out of Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KO’s) suffering a cut during training/sparring that forced his undisputed heavyweight bout with Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KO’s) to be cancelled. While the event was set to continue, with even a replacement in IBF heavyweight interim champion Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO’s) rumored to step in, a new date has quickly been rescheduled.
The same venue as before, the Kingdom Arena based in Riyadh, will continue hosting the event along with all the accompanying bouts that had previously been scheduled. While there had been no indication for how long Fury would be out, the new date signifies that there will be enough time for Fury to recover fully.
The rescheduling of the event and the new date was announced by Turki Alalshikh himself during an interview he held alongside Fury with The MMA Hour. During the interview, Alalshikh appeared adamant that the undisputed heavyweight fight would still occur:
“We delayed it for the 18th of May,” Alalshikh stated.
“I have guaranteed the fighters 10 million if someone [attempts] to escape from the fight, this is the first thing, and the second thing―I guarantee a big fight on the same night.
“18th of May, we will have Tyson-Usyk, Usyk-Tyson. If Usyk’s scared I will call for [Anthony] Joshua-Tyson. If Tyson’s scared I will call for any fighter Usyk wants, and this thing [event] is in my name.“
Turki Alalshikh’s vehement response seems to be a response to claims on social media that Fury was faking an injury in an attempt to escape the fight with Usyk, but Fury’s own appearance alongside Alalshikh will likely abate the rumors of Fury “ducking” Usyk for at least the time being.
Alalshikh also further substantiated on the 10 million that he mentioned, later explaining that it was actually a penalty or fine that would be imposed on either fighter if they withdrew from their May 18th bout:
“10 million not from us, [but] 10 million from their own money.” Turki Alalshikh said to confirm the inclusion of the 10 million penalty within the bout contract signed by Fury and Usyk.
Alalshikh further made mention of the IBF who appears to have set a deadline for Usyk to complete his fight with Tyson Fury. Oleksandr Usyk had been ordered in 2022 to face IBF mandatory challenger and interim champion Filip Hrgovic following his rematch against Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KO’s), but Usyk’s failure to commit to his mandatory duties has apparently left IBF with little patience thus explaining the apparent deadline they have set.
“And even if he [Tyson Fury] isn’t ready on the 18th of May, he will play [fight] because we have [a] deadline with the IBF, and I don’t want headache with the IBF,” Alalshikh said.
“We have a contract, we have a deadline until the 18th [of May]. We will deliver this fight on the 18th, or deliver [a] big fight if someone quits from it.“
The undisputed heavyweight bout and all of the rest of the original matches that were set to complement the match on February 17th is set to resume on May 18th at the same location, as verified by the main stakeholder of the event, Turki Alalshikh, himself.
