Unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) has put the disappointment of the proposed December 23 date for a bout against WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) being cancelled behind him and is ready to move forward with the fight in February.
The former undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world who currently reigns as the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion was ready to face Fury two days before Christmas.
And up until little over a week ago, Fury says he was ready too.
That was until the 35-year-old Fury struggled against boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou 0-1 in Saudi Arabia on October 28, finding himself cut in the second round, on the deck in the third and labouring to a split decision win.
It was all grist for the mill for affable Ukrainian southpaw Usyk, 36, whose sole focus remains becoming a two-weight undisputed world champion.
“He’s absolutely ready to go and he knows how to deal with Tyson,” Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk told Boxing News. “That’s why I feel confident, that’s why I feel relaxed about this fight.
“The only thing that I’m really concerned about is to make this fight happen. In the contract, it was December 23, but it’s a matter of common sense and common reason. If a fighter isn’t ready to go, you cannot make him.
“We would rather stay flexible, stay relaxed. We have settled already on the new date [in February] and next week, we’re going to announce it; hopefully, of course.
Krassyuk admitted they were disappointed with the way Fury performed against Ngannou as it out a bit of a dampener on Usyk’s bout with the polarising Brit.
“When you treat your opponent with disrespect when you overlook your opponent, sometimes shit happens. That was an unlucky night for our guy,” he said.
“From a boxing point of view, Tyson Fury won the fight. The fight is scored by the rounds. So, according to my card, he was a couple of rounds ahead, and that’s normal. He lost a couple of rounds. One round, he definitely lost for having a knockdown, but in general, he won.
“The emotional impression was an absolute underdog, an MMA fighter with zero chance, suddenly fires up the world. So now Tyson Fury is in the position of being frustrated about what the world has about him.
“The only man who doesn’t trust Tyson Fury is Oleksandr Usyk because he still thinks Tyson Fury was playing a game [in his fight with Ngannou].
“He thinks Tyson Fury was not serious. When he steps foot into the ring with Oleksandr Usyk, he will be at his best.”
Krassyuk believes that Fury came into the Ngannou bout underprepared, expecting an easy win.
“Not a single man in the world would expect it and if Tyson treated him seriously, it wouldn’t happen probably,” Krassyuk said.
“He didn’t look trained, his body didn’t look trained.
“So it looked like [Fury] is coming from a long vacation for easy money. That was the way he looked and he won; there’s no doubt about it. The way he won brings some kind of question marks.”
Usyk, who fought as a middleweight in the amateurs, will be giving away around six-inches in height to Fury, but Krassyuk says size will not be the determining factor in this fight.
“Size doesn’t matter much, especially in boxing,” Krassyuk said. “My experience tells me that it’s not about size, it’s about skills, it’s about mindset, mentality and boxing IQ. This is what makes you victorious.”
