When Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk meet at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena on May 18, it will end a 25-year wait to crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. And the best news is that a Fury-Usyk sequel is already in the works.
LOOK: Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, live on DAZN
As the decades have passed in top-flight boxing, the rematch clause has become increasingly popular. In fact, it is a safety valve that allows an elite fighter a second chance if defeated. Economically, everyone benefits: fighters, promoters, managers and coaches.
In the case of Fury and Usyk, their respective teams have worked hard to establish a fighter image and earning capacity. Both men are elite superstars and as such, it was always expected that a rematch clause would be included in the contract.
The Jugo Mobile takes a look at the Fury-Usyk rematch clause and the respective experiences these fighters have with return fights on the world stage:
What are the conditions of the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk rematch clause?
All we know at the moment is that there is a two-way rematch clause.
This means that the loser of the May 18 fight has the legal right to trigger a direct rematch.
The financial terms of the second fight are unknown.
Was Tyson Fury ever involved with rematch clauses?
When Fury defeated Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight championship in 2015, the Ukrainian legend had a rematch clause.
However, a second fight did not take place as Fury encountered a variety of personal and professional problems. English has long-standing mental health problems. He has struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, and early in his career was handicapped by a failed UKAD test.
After a two-and-a-half-year layoff, Fury returned to action to face then-WBC champion Deontay Wilder. The pair drew in December 2018 and then Fury dominated and stopped the American in their second meeting, which took place in February 2020. To secure the second fight with Wilder, Fury agreed to a rematch.
Due to the COVID pandemic, the third Fury-Wilder fight was delayed over a year. When he finally came out, Fury won by 11th-round knockout.
Has Oleksandr Usyk ever been involved with rematch clauses?
The most notable rematch clause Usyk has been involved in included Anthony Joshua.
In September 2021, Usyk defeated AJ to win the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
Even though Usyk was in great control during that fight, Joshua activated his rematch clause and the second fight took place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua fought much better but succumbed to another points defeat.
LOOK: Tyson Fury against Oleksandr Usyk, exclusively on ESPN+
What would nullify the Fury vs. rematch clause? Uysk?
Rematch clauses have been known to fail if the first fight is not competitive.
An example of this would be Lennox Lewis vs. Mike Tyson from 2002. The original contract for that matchup called for two fights, but the one-sided nature of Lewis’ eighth-round knockout victory in Memphis was such that the second part did not. transpire.
Furthermore, if the Fury-Usyk winner were to retire, which is unlikely, then he cannot be forced to fight a rematch.
