Tyson Fury forced to postpone Oleksandr Usyk fight after suffering an eye cut during sparring (1 Viewer)

[bryangrey]

Tyson Fury has had to withdraw from his highly anticipated undisputed world heavyweight title bout against Oleksandr Usyk due to sustaining a cut during sparring. The scheduled clash, where all four belts were set to be contested, was slated for February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

However, Queensberry Promotions and Fury, who holds the WBC title, announced on Friday evening that the bout had to be postponed because of a severe cut above Fury's right eye.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1753475674621317573

According to a statement from Queensberry, the cut was deemed significant and necessitated immediate medical attention. Fury expressed his disappointment with the situation, stating:

"I am absolutely devastated. I feel bad for everyone involved in his huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed".

At 35 years old, Tyson Fury had orchestrated the much-anticipated showdown with Oleksandr Usyk, overcoming a knockdown to narrowly defeat former UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou in October.

Currently, there's no specified rescheduled date for the fight. However, boxing journalist Dan Rafael mentioned on X that discussions are in progress for Filip Hrgovic, the IBF mandatory challenger, to potentially step in on short notice to face Usyk on February 17.

The feasibility of this substitution remains uncertain, considering Hrgovic was originally slated to confront the winner of the Fury-Usyk matchup later in the year or contend against a different opponent for the vacant title.