An undisputed heavyweight title fight is as rare as a boxer not talking about his chances before stepping into the ring. There hasn't been a match like this in a thousand years, but tonight, for the first time, we'll see a match that deserves a fair amount of hype.
No belt has been on the line since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield 25 years ago, and it's not the only belt on the line in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are both undefeated in their professional boxing careers to date, and the winner of the bout will become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era.
Fury holds the WBC belt, which he won in 2020 by defeating Deontay Wilder. He has defended the belt three times against Wilder, Dillian Whyte and most recently Derek Chisora.
Usyk has held the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles since defeating Anthony Joshua in 2021. He has defended these titles twice: in a rematch with Joshua and most recently against Daniel Dubois.
Fury had no doubts about what he would do in Riyadh, saying he intended to knock out his Ukrainian opponent.
“I'm going to dismantle him,” said the Brit. “I just want to beat the stupid sausage. Yes, Usyk is fast and talented and has outboxed a big heavyweight in Anthony Joshua twice, but AJ is one-dimensional, self-paced, and blindsided.” I was able to outbox him even if I did that. But I'm different.
For Usyk, the scale of the fight is all too clear.
“This is the most important match in my career, sports career, sports life. I want to say that my victory is a victory for the whole Ukrainian people. And the defeat is personal,” said the Ukrainian. Ta.
“I was worried about Tyson Fury, that he might get injured and the fight wouldn't take place,” he added. “If he had acted, I think he deserved an Oscar. He should have because he has a contract. That's just Tyson Fury's problem. He signed a contract so he has to fight. It's been a great journey. I can do anything now.”
The ring walk is scheduled for around 11pm UK time, so stay here for all the build-up, the undercard and until boxing's biggest fight in a generation.
