Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are to come to blows once more before the end of the year.
Back in May, these two supremely skilled fighters faced off for the first time out in Saudi Arabia in a hugely anticipated heavyweight showdown for all four major world titles.
The fight lived up to expectations and was a close fought 12 rounds with Usyk the man just able to impose himself more, particularly in the ninth which saw him win 10-8 and eventually helped him take a points win.
He has since had to give up the IBF belt in order to honour the rematch so only three of the world titles will be on the line in the rematch.
Fury has vowed to be more concentrated having claimed he was having too much fun in the first match, while Usyk continues to insist to ‘The Gypsy King’ that ‘I will not leave you alone’.
What paths are taken next is up in the air, both for the winner and loser. Usyk has expressed an interest in moving back down to cruiserweight where he was also previously undisputed.
Speaking at a recent press conference, fighter turned promoter Oscar De La Hoya has now claimed the Ukrainian is interested in fighting the winner of this weekend’s cruiserweight unification between Chris Billiam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez.
“I heard through the grapevine that a special world champion in the heavyweight division is considering moving down to fight the winner of Saturday’s fight. So Usyk is considering coming down to cruiserweight to fight the winner on Saturday night.”
Usyk’s team has responded the the claim saying that their sole focus is Fury on December 21.
In truth, there will be many options for either man once the fight is over – both Anthony Joshua and IBF title holder Daniel Dubois would be keen to get a shot for their belts or big money. If Fury wins the second fight, he is keen on a trilogy.
