Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday defeated Anthony Joshua to retain his IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia as the Ukrainian turned in a masterful boxing display to beat the Briton for the second time in less than a year.
After the 35-year-old victory over Joshua, he immediately called out Fury, while suggesting that he will retire from boxing if the fight is not made yet.
‘I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet. I’m convinced that he wants to fight me,” Usyk said after his victory. ‘I want to fight him and if I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.’
Meanwhile, Fury enjoying the fight from home, had delivered a rather blunt assessment of Usyk and Joshua’s performances before signalling his intent to return to the ring and fight the former.
‘After watching that, both of them were s***e,’ Fury said in an audio recording shared on Twitter.
‘It was one of the worst heavyweight title fights I’ve ever seen. It was bulls***. It was f***ing s****. I would annihilate both on the same night. Get your chequebook out. Because The Gypsy King is here to stay forever.’
National Daily understands that despite persistent talk of retirement, WBC champion Fury signalled his intention to fight the undefeated Ukrainian in the aftermath in a bout which will crown the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champions since Lennox Lewis.
And National Daily can further confirm from the report by the Daily Mail that Fury’s team are now in talks to make that fight happen back in Saudi Arabia on 17 December. The final of this winter’s World Cup takes place in neighbouring Qatar the following day
Prince Mohammad Abdulaziz, the Saudi minister for sport, confirmed: ‘We are very interested in the fight for the undisputed heavyweight title. We are looking to do that in the city of Riyadh.’
Joshua meanwhile insists he plans to return to the ring in November or December.
‘I spoke to Eddie and asked if I could go in November because momentum is important.’ Joshua said in a post-fight press conference. ‘He said December. I will take two weeks off.
‘I am a fighter for life and the fire never dies. Come one, come all, whoever wants it can get it.’