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

CNN
—

It’s one of the biggest cases of “will they, won’t they” in sports in recent memory: Finally, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will step into the ring to face off on Saturday.

After months of discussions and canceled fights, the two boxers will trade blows to crown 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 will begin at 12 p.m. ET, and ring walks for the main event are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. ET.

DAZN will broadcast the fight worldwide, with US viewers able to follow it on ESPN’s pay-per-view service. Sky Sports and TNT Sports will broadcast the fight in the UK via their pay-per-view platforms.

A fight between Fury and Usyk has been a long time coming.

In one corner is Fury, who has come through a challenge from high-powered stars – including Wladimir Klitschko, Dillian Whyte and a trilogy fight against Deontay Wilder – to be in possession of the WBC heavyweight title.

In the other corner is Usyk, who had already conquered the cruiserweight division before moving up to heavyweight, winning – and defending – the WBO, WBA and IBF titles against Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.

While boxing fans have long expressed frustration that the best aren’t fighting the best, reports began circulating last March that the two camps were close to agreeing terms. a fight in April.

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

However, on the eve of the second meeting, it was postponed again after the Briton suffered “an abnormal cut” above his eye during a training session.

The Ukrainian later revealed that he missed the birth of his daughter because of his preparations for the fight. But after rescheduling twice, the fight continues.

There’s a lot at stake besides four world heavyweight titles, with the winner crowned one of the greatest heavyweights of his generation.

Undefeated records are also under threat. Fury has won 34 fights and drawn one match since turning professional, while Usyk has won all 21 of his fights.

Usyk, 37, is ranked the third best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by The Ring magazine, and becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world would solidify his position as the division’s standard-bearer.

A win for Fury would help him bounce back from his surprisingly poor performance against Ngannou in October, while possibly setting up a highly anticipated and highly publicized all-British fight against former heavyweight champion Joshua.

Physically, Fury has the advantage over Usyk. He is 6-foot-9 with a reach of 85 inches while Usyk is 6-foot-3 with a reach of 78 inches.

This will likely be a tactical affair, with both fighters revealing little as they look for a chink in the other’s armor.

At a press conference in Riyadh, Fury’s message to Usyk was: “God bless him. I will say a prayer for him before the fight and that we can both exit the ring safely.