Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will continue negotiations for a 2023 undisputed heavyweight clash this week.
The Gypsy King’s US promoter Bob Arum will sit down with Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas in New York. Arum is promoting Usyk’s compatriot Vasiliy Lomachenko against Jamaine Ortiz at Madison Square Garden’s Theatre in New York on Saturday night.
Lomachenko is also managed by Klimas so it makes sense for Arum to conduct talks with him while the pair are in the Big Apple. “Oleksandr Usyk I look at as a very good friend because he is the best friend of Vasiliy Lomachenko,” Arum told Sky Sports.
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“They’re very close, went to the same Olympic Games, and they share a manager in Egis Klimas who’s a very good friend of ours and coincidentally we [Top Rank] will be promoting Vasiliy’s next fight on October 29 from Madison Square Garden.
“Egis and Oleksandr Usyk will be there and I’ll be having dinner with them without any question, probably the Thursday night before the fight and so I’ll have a very long discussion with them about what their plans are and when it could be in their best interests to get the fight on. I know from previous conversations with both of them that they want that fight against Tyson Fury.”
There is already a deal framework in place for the bout to take place in Saudi Arabia in a deal worth around £132m ($150m). Saudi officials wanted to stage the bout on December 17 – the night before the World Cup final in Qatar.
Who will win if Fury and Usyk face each other next year? Let us know in the comments section
(Image: Top Rank via Getty Images)
But Ukrainian Usyk is not ready to fight again this year having returned to his war-torn homeland after he beat Anthony Joshua in September. Saudi now want the fight to take place in March in capital city Riyadh.
Arum’s talks with Usyk and Klimas will be to ascertain whether or not the WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion will be ready then to face WBC title holder Fury. The Gypsy King must first see off huge underdog Derek Chisora on December 3 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Meanwhile, Joshua will not return to the ring this year. The former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion has opted to take a longer break from the sport.
(Image: PA)
Joshua, 33, was expected to fight on December 17 despite the collapse of a proposed date with Fury earlier in the month. But now it is understood that ‘AJ’ will take the rest of 2022 off. Joshua is regrouping after back-to-back defeats by Usyk.
He will continue to train at Finchley and District Amateur Boxing club where he started as a fighter. But plans for a fight this year have now been shelved. Joshua will use the time to recover but also consider his training team again.
(Image: Getty Images)
Robert Garcia was brought in for his second fight with Usyk but the American coach was unable to devise a gameplan to beat the Ukrainian. Garcia would be keen to work with Joshua again but wants him to relocate to the US for training camps.
That is not something Joshua is currently keen on. Garcia was also against taking a fight with Fury this year. He wants Joshua to return with two wins before seeking out the best in the division again.
Joshua could opt to bring in another new face or stick with Angel Fernandez, who has worked under Rob McCracken and Garcia in previous training camps.
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