Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk believes Tyson Fury will not fulfill the rematch clause in his contract for the undisputed fight.
The four-belt shootout is scheduled to take place on May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Whatever the outcome of their inaugural meeting, they are expected to meet again as a two-way rematch clause is inserted into the terms of their agreement.
However, Krassyuk is not convinced a second fight will take place after seeing Fury withdraw from his proposed rematch with Wladimir Klitschko in 2016.
“By the way, I don’t have much confidence in the rematch,” Krassyuk told Boxing Scene.
“If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to get back in the ring?
“In theory it’s possible, but we all know what happened in the rematch against Wladimir Klitschko.”
Fury ended Klitschko’s remarkable 11-year unbeaten streak in 2015 to wrest the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles from the long-time reigning champion.
Klitschko was entitled to a rematch, but Fury withdrew from the contest twice before walking away from the sport for two and a half years as his mental health spiraled out of control.
The Ukrainian never got his second fight with Fury and retired a year later after being stopped by Anthony Joshua.
Fury has since regained the top of the glamor division and now has the opportunity to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era if he beats Usyk next month.
The heavyweight titans were originally scheduled to meet on February 17, but their fight was pushed back after ‘The Gypsy King’ suffered a cut in fighting.
If either man pulls out of the fight this time around, they will be fined $10 million, but Krassyuk still has concerns.
“Usyk actually had a triple camp for this fight,” he added.
“It started in September so that the fight took place last December. We showed up at the Ngannou fight to get in the ring to announce the fight for the undisputed, but his team jumped up and said he didn’t look very good, so Usyk gave him a little space to prepare in his camp in Saudi Arabia.
“We were then supposed to fight on February 17, then we got postponed to May. Tyson Fury has already pulled out of this fight four times.
“Remember, we were looking to fight last April; he pulled out of that at that time as well. That’s why we fought Daniel Dubois. This will be the fourth camp we’ve had for Tyson Fury. “
A contingency plan is in place for Usyk to still box on May 18, whether or not Fury is in front of him.
“Filip Hrgovic, IBF representative, will be the replacement if [Fury] it starts again…
“Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title. It was one of our conditions. The game is about being uncontested. It’s not about money – it’s about legacy, about glory.
“Tyson Fury says he doesn’t care, but at the press conference he was like, ‘Wow, the IBF, the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the Ring Magazine, the undisputed, the linear’ , which I’ve never heard of.”
Hrgovic is currently preparing to face Daniel Dubois in the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev match in June, so he will be in good enough shape to replace Fury on short notice should that happen.
Oleksandr Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk believes Tyson Fury will not fulfill the rematch clause in his contract for the undisputed fight.
The four-belt shootout is scheduled to take place on May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Whatever the outcome of their inaugural meeting, they are expected to meet again as a two-way rematch clause is inserted into the terms of their agreement.
However, Krassyuk is not convinced a second fight will take place after seeing Fury withdraw from his proposed rematch with Wladimir Klitschko in 2016.
“By the way, I don’t have much confidence in the rematch,” Krassyuk told Boxing Scene.
“If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to get back in the ring?
“In theory it’s possible, but we all know what happened in the rematch against Wladimir Klitschko.”
Fury ended Klitschko’s remarkable 11-year unbeaten streak in 2015 to wrest the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO world heavyweight titles from the long-time reigning champion.
Klitschko was entitled to a rematch, but Fury withdrew from the contest twice before walking away from the sport for two and a half years as his mental health spiraled out of control.
The Ukrainian never got his second fight with Fury and retired a year later after being stopped by Anthony Joshua.
Fury has since regained the top of the glamor division and now has the opportunity to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era if he beats Usyk next month.
The heavyweight titans were originally scheduled to meet on February 17, but their fight was pushed back after ‘The Gypsy King’ suffered a cut in fighting.
If either man pulls out of the fight this time around, they will be fined $10 million, but Krassyuk still has concerns.
“Usyk actually had a triple camp for this fight,” he added.
“It started in September so that the fight took place last December. We showed up at the Ngannou fight to get in the ring to announce the fight for the undisputed, but his team jumped up and said he didn’t look very good, so Usyk gave him a little space to prepare in his camp in Saudi Arabia.
“We were then supposed to fight on February 17, then we got postponed to May. Tyson Fury has already pulled out of this fight four times.
“Remember, we were looking to fight last April; he pulled out of that at that time as well. That’s why we fought Daniel Dubois. This will be the fourth camp we’ve had for Tyson Fury. “
A contingency plan is in place for Usyk to still box on May 18, whether or not Fury is in front of him.
“Filip Hrgovic, IBF representative, will be the replacement if [Fury] it starts again…
“Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title. It was one of our conditions. The game is about being uncontested. It’s not about money – it’s about legacy, about glory.
“Tyson Fury says he doesn’t care, but at the press conference he was like, ‘Wow, the IBF, the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the Ring Magazine, the undisputed, the linear’ , which I’ve never heard of.”
Hrgovic is currently preparing to face Daniel Dubois in the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev match in June, so he will be in good enough shape to replace Fury on short notice should that happen.