Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will meet again, with Turki Alalshikh announcing that the heavyweights will square off in their expected rematch on Saturday, Dec. 21, from Saudi Arabia.
Usyk defeated Fury on May 18 in Riyadh, becoming boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era, unifying the WBC, WBA, IBF, and WBO titles.
The fight received rave reviews not just for its significance and spectacle but also its action, meaning this is a fairly rare rematch that the public will actually want to see, as there is simply no better — or bigger — heavyweight rematch to be made.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) may or may not wind up actually defending the undisputed crown in the fight, though if boxing’s real power players — the money men, in this case the event’s Saudi backers — have their say, that will be the case. Usyk does have mandatory challengers waiting in the wings, including Filip Hrgovic, who faces Daniel Dubois this Saturday in Riyadh, and WBO interim titleholder Joseph Parker, but with all involved now working with the Saudis on various events, one figures the wheels can be greased and Usyk vs Fury 2 will be an undisputed title rematch.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO) will be looking to bounce back from his first career loss as well as achieve basically the one thing he still hasn’t, which is going undisputed.
The good news is you’ve gotten early warning regarding any holiday travel plans you might have around that time. Gotta tell the family you’ll be heading in no earlier than the 22nd.