Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: How to watch the undisputed heavyweight title fight

CNN
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It’s one of the sport’s biggest “will they, won’t they” events in recent memory: Finally, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will enter. Ring to face each other on Saturday.

After months of talk and canceled fights, the two boxers would become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and the division’s first undisputed champion in the four-belt era.

Here’s everything you need to know about their fight.

Fury and Usyk will take center stage on Saturday, May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The undercard begins at 12 pm ET, with the main event ringwalks expected to begin at 6 pm ET.

DAZN will broadcast the fight worldwide, while viewers in the US can watch on ESPN’s pay-per-view service. Sky Sports and TNT Sports will show the fight in the UK through their pay-per-view platforms.

A feud between Fury and Uzi has been going on for a long time.

Fury is in a corner, having overcome an array of high-powered stars to capture the WBC heavyweight title – including a trilogy against Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian White and Deontay Wilder.

In another corner, Usyk won the cruiserweight division before moving up to heavyweight, winning the WBO, WBA and IBF titles against Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

While boxing fans have long expressed their frustration, reports began circulating last March that the two camps were close to agreeing terms for a fight in April.

Finally, a December 23 date was agreed upon, but following a controversial, tougher-than-expected fight for Fury against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, the fight was delayed until February 2024.

However, ahead of the second date, it was postponed once again after the Briton suffered “a nasty cut” above his eye during a sparring session.

The Ukrainian later revealed that he had missed the birth of his daughter due to preparations for the fight. But after two reshuffles, the fight continues.

With so much at stake besides four heavyweight world titles, the winner is crowned one of the greatest heavyweights of his generation.

Failed records are also at risk. Fury has won 34 bouts and one draw since turning professional, while Usyk has won all 21 of his fights.

The 37-year-old Usyk is ranked the third best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by The Ring magazine, and the undisputed world heavyweight champion will cement his status as the division’s standard-bearer.

A win for Fury would help him bounce back from his surprisingly poor performance against Nagano in October, while also setting up a long-awaited, high-profile, all-British fight against former heavyweight champion Joshua.

Physically, Fury has the edge over Usyk. He stands at 6-foot-9-inches with an 85-inch reach, while Usik is listed at 6-foot-3-inches with a 78-inch reach.

It could be a tactical affair, with neither fighter giving much away as they look for a chink in the other’s armor.

At a news conference in Riyadh, Fury’s message to Usyk: “God bless him. I pray for him before the fight and that we both get out of the ring safely.