Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk: Date, fight time, undercard, purse, odds, prediction, how to watch, PPV price
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are bidding to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in a generation.
The division has not seen a unified world champion since Lennox Lewis reigned supreme between November 1999 and April 2000.
Fury and Usyk are set for a showdown in Saudi Arabia in just a few weeks’ time for a fight a long time in the making.
The ‘Gypsy King’ was forced to pull out of their original date of February 17 after sustaining a “freak” cut above his eye in sparring.
It was then quickly rearranged for May 18 and the presence of a rematch clause means the two will meet again regardless of the result.
Fury is the favourite but it will be fascinating to see where he is after his last fight back in October 2023. The then-novice Francis Ngannou took him all the way and even knocked Fury to the ground before the British fighter claimed an unconvincing win on points.
Anthony Joshua made that look even worse by disposing of the former UFC heavyweight king with relative ease back in March.
Usyk, meanwhile, has not fought since defending his WBO, WBO and IBF titles against Daniel Dubois last summer in controversial fashion.
Dubois knocked the Ukrainian to the canvas with what the referee deemed a low blow, something that was later appealed by the Briton’s team.
That appeal was dismissed, teeing up a first undisputed battle in an age.
Here’s everything you need to know...
Fury vs Usyk date, start time, venue and ring walks
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk will take place on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
No timings for the card have yet been confirmed, but ring walks for the main event will likely take place at around 11pm BST. It could prove to be later than that though, with Joshua and Ngannou not emerging for their recent bout until 12:30am UK time.
How to watch Fury vs Usyk
TV channel and live stream: Fury vs Usyk will be shown live in the UK via DAZN’s pay-per-view service, Sky Sports Box Office and TNT Sports Box Office.
Ahead of the planned February date for this fight, DAZN announced that for those who already have a subscription, the fight would be available to purchase at a cost of £23.99. Otherwise new customers would pay £24.99 to buy the event and get a free month’s subscription to DAZN in the process.
A similar price is expected for the fight in May. Sky Sports and TNT Sports have not yet confirmed any details.
Live blog: Follow the entire card live with Standard Sport’s live fight blog.
Fury vs Usyk fight card/undercard in full
Joe Cordina makes a defence of his super-featherweight world title as he fights Ireland’s Anthony Cacace on the undercard.
The Welshman is 17-0 as a professional and won the IBF belt for a second time with victory over Shavkat Rakhimov last year, before defending his strap in Monaco against Edward Vazquez in November.
Earlier in the night, Jai Opetaia faces Mairis Briedis, beaten in 2018 by Usyk, for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title in a hugely-anticipated bout, while young heavyweight star Moses Itauma is also in action.
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk (for WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight titles)
Joe Cordina vs Anthony Cacace (for IBF and IBO super-featherweight titles)
Jai Opetaia vs Mairis Briedis (for vacant IBF cruiserweight title)
Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab
Sergey Kovalev vs Robin Sirwan Safar
Isaac Lowe vs Hasibullah Ahmadi
David Nyika vs Michael Seitz
Moses Itauma vs Ilja Mezencev
Agit Kabayel vs Frank Sanchez
Fury vs Usyk purse
There is be a $10million fine for either fighter to pay, should they pull out of the May 18 date.
While the money each fighter will receive has not been made public, promoter Bob Arum suggested in October that Fury expected to make in excess of $100m.
"If you told Tyson Fury he's set to make $100 million, he'd really get pissed off," Arum said.
"Because he thinks – and I think he's right – that he's gonna make a lot more than that."
Usyk can expect to make a similarly huge sum, and it will certainly be a career-high payday. It was reported that Usyk earned more than £30m, even before pay-per-view revenue and various endorsements, for the rematch against Joshua.
Fury vs Usyk prediction
It is not a particularly bold prediction to suggest Fury will be significantly better than in his strangely lethargic win over Ngannou.
That was a performance that suggested complacency either or the night or in Fury’s training camp, a factor that will not be an issue as he prepares for an undisputed showdown with Usyk.
Having picked up routine wins over Chisora and Dillian Whyte before the Ngannou bout, it is well over two years since Fury last needed to produce something close to his best, with that coming in the third fight with Deontay Wilder.
That was an epic fight with five knockdowns, and it would be a huge surprise if there was the same kind of thrilling action in May. Usyk is technically superb, a charge that cannot be levelled at Wilder, for all that right hand was a real threat to Fury.
The Ukrainian does not possess the concussive one-punch power, but his movement and relentless work-rate wears opponents down. That strength may be neutralised here to a degree, and certainly more than Usyk has experienced at heavyweight so far, with Fury so slick himself.
We’re predicting a tight contest, with plenty of rounds that are difficult to score. Fury’s size advantage could just about give him the edge, with the front-footed approach under SugarHill Steward preventing Usyk from controlling the bout in the way he did against the likes of Joshua and Dubois.
Fury to win on points.
Fury vs Usyk betting odds
Tyson Fury to win: 5/6
Oleksandr Usyk to win: Evens
Draw: 12/1
Tyson Fury to win on points or by decision: 7/4
Tyson Fury to win by knockout or technical knockout: 11/4
Oleksandr Usyk to win on points or by decision: 2/1
Oleksandr Usyk to win by knockout or technical knockout: 4/1
Odds via Sky Bet (subject to change).
