MAZUMA STADIUM, MORECAMBE – Tyson Fury has committed to fighting British heavyweight rival Anthony Joshua twice, but only after doing the same with Oleksandr Usyk.
Lineal and WBC champion Fury will face IBF, WBA and WBO king Usyk in a highly anticipated and delayed fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18 to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion heavy in 25 years.
The so-called “Ring of Fire” fight is the latest boxing blockbuster to land in the Middle Eastern state since Turki Alalshikh, president of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, was given the reins of the sport’s power in his country.
At the end of a press conference held on Wednesday at the stadium of League Two football team Morecambe, in the town Gypsy King calls home, Alalshikh was called and put on loudspeaker to address the masses.
LOOK: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, live on DAZN
“You know you are the most beautiful diamond among boxers,” he gushed to Fury. “You know how I see you. From my position, I need to be fair between you and Usyk and have a good fight. But you know what you have in my heart.”
Those comments likely won’t go unnoticed by Team Usyk, as the masterful Ukrainian’s most likely path to victory will be through the scorecards. But it also marks an impressive rise in the kingmaker’s affections, given that Fury’s only outing this Riyadh season was one in which he almost irreparably embarrassed himself and the sport of him.
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Last October, Fury was defeated by former UFC heavyweight champion and boxing rookie Francis Ngannou before fighting to a split decision victory. Ngannou was knocked out in two rounds by Joshua last month to spark talk of a long-awaited showdown.
One of the obstacles leading up to what would almost certainly be the biggest fight in British boxing history was a rematch clause Fury had with Deontay Wilder, forcing his unforgettable victory in the third fight of their trilogy. With this in mind, and the comparable contract he has with Usyk, he warned Joshua to fall in line regardless of enthusiasm for his rival’s return to form.
“The rematch was always very important for little Usyk, he was crying like a puppy because he wants a double bubble,” Fury said.
“In the past, law-abiding contracts have cost me millions of dollars. For Wilder III they took me to court and arbitration in Florida and it cost me about $10 million and the Joshua fight at the time. When you sign a legally binding document, no law of the land will revoke it.
“If you’re Usyk and they pay you a lot of money for losing to me but you already have a rematch, why wouldn’t you want it? Unless Turki wants to give him something like £50 million to step aside, but as far as I know, no one wants to throw that kind of money away for free.
“I take away Usyk’s bald head, he gets a second chance and pays twice.”
Joshua has impressed under his new trainer Ben Davison, who managed the early stages of Fury’s return from serious problems with depression and substance abuse. A striking victory over Fury’s former foe Otto Wallin last December is also part of this upward trajectory.
However, Fury feels that Joshua’s consecutive decision losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022 are still much more significant in the overall analysis than his current four-fight winning streak.
“I think Eddie [Hearn, Joshua’s promoter] “I’d like to think your man is a little bit relevant here, but let’s be real,” he said. “It’s clear to see Usyk beat the old sausage twice. He had two attempts against him.
“The first try was a pretty easy boxing lesson, the second fight was pretty close. But he lost them both, fair and square, there was no dispute. He even had a little meltdown in the ring after the second.
“He lost, he had his chance and he lost. So now it’s my and Usyk’s turn. It’s not about him.
“But after dealing with Usyk twice, I’ll deal with sausage AJ. I’ll do it in Saudi Arabia and then I’ll do it here in London. I’ll make two fried sausages sizzling in a pan, instead of one.”
It’s a British hit that fans would happily devour, even after all this waiting time. But when it comes to Fury vs. Joshua, we’ve been burned many times before.
