The final piece of the jigsaw will be pressed firmly into place on February 17 2024 when the World Heavyweight Champion is finally determined in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The promotion named ‘Ring of Fire’ will see Britain’s Tyson Fury face Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk for all of the sanctioning body belts and the ultimate accolade of what we consider the ‘ultimate prize in sport‘. The fact that this website carries such an illustrious and self proclaiming title is that we believe many things in this world should be ‘Undisputed’ and although most things in life are subject to conjecture and opinion, that, in itself is modern life; this title, is what we consider to be the beacon that leads the sport. Nuff said.
The journey to this point has been a long and arduous one. The final road to the defining moment was officially announced in a packed press conference in central London last Thursday (16 November). Both main protagonists were in attendance, accompanied by Saudi royalty, some boxing hierarchy and, Rocky Balboa himself ! (aka actor Sylvester Stallone).
The fractured nature of the sport has led to a splintering of titles with the proliferation of multiple sanctioning bodies claiming that their champion is the man. Business and vested interests has generated this muddled scenario. For the record, both fighters have undefeated professional logs; Fury 34-0-1 (24 KO’s) and Usyk 21-0 (14 KO’s). The Brit is recognised by the WBC as their champion and Ukrainian by the IBF, WBA and WBO as theirs.
To add further garnish Usyk is the esteemed The Ring magazine champion having recently been awarded that title by their ratings panel. Fury brings his lineal status to the party by virtue of being, the man who beat the man, who beat the man etc’. It is contentious how The Ring title changed hands without them having met in the roped square until now. They have their reasons.
What’s important is that we are nearly there. The money being earned by both fighters is astronomical, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia who will pay for the privilege to host the event will be handsomely rewarded in worldwide exposure and the prestige that follows. This will be enhanced should the contest be an unforgettable event and be consigned to the sporting annals of time like The Rumble in the Jungle.
To this observer it was disappointing to see the over 100 year history of the title being demeaned by some of the lack of respect and language that Tyson ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury used in the press conference towards his opponent. He (Usyk) whose country we know are in the midst of defending their sovereign rights, and who throughout his career has exuded class and professionalism.
Usyk took his reference to being told he was gonna get his “face punched in” and being called a “sausage” with his usual smile and a shake of his head. He expected Fury to steal the show to promote the fight, and in the modern world that may be necessary to sell pay-per-view and streams, but it would have been nice to witness the dignity of a Rocky Marciano-Joe Louis or ‘Jersey’ Joe Walcott press conference for this historic event, but times have changed !
Let’s just look forward to what is being billed as, and indeed is, a “historic event”. As co-promoter Frank Warren rightly introduced in the press conference “It doesn’t get any better than this”.
When Fury and Usyk have their final face-off it will eventually result in crowning a World Heavyweight Champion for the first time this century ! That indeed is worth determining and ultimately celebrating.
The Undisputed 