WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is putting a lot of pressure on Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA titles, to face him sooner rather than later.
Fury wants to return at the end of the year, but Usyk wants to take a few months off and put that fight together in early 2023. The Ukrainian boxer wants to heal his body and spend some time with his family.
Usyk was in action last month in Saudi Arabia, when he earned a hard-fought twelve-round decision win in his rematch with Anthony Joshua.
Fury warns that he is open to targeting Joshua, despite suffering back-to-back losses, if a unification deal with Usyk is not struck.
“I still think that even though he has lost three of his last five fights… I still think people would like to see that fight,” Fury told BT Sport. “If that [Usyk] the fight does not happen, so we will go and offer the fight to AJ”.
Joshua is targeting a comeback fight, against a top 15 opponent, in December.
Fury, known for making many controversial statements in the past, refused to criticize Joshua for his post-fight tirade after losing the rematch with Usyk.
“I saw all of that, but I’m not one to jump on someone like that. I don’t give a fuck what anyone says; That’s up to them, it’s none of my business. Listen, everybody has to do what they have to do in life, and it’s none of my business what he does after the fight,” Fury said.
“My job is to box, not what he said. I’ve said tons of shit in the past, I don’t want to be judged. My job is boxing, so I judge these guys on their performances in boxing, not what they do outside of boxing. No interest in that shit.
