George Groves believes Tyson Fury could still pull out of the undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk and claims the WBC will do nothing about it.
Fury and Usyk will finally meet in the ring as part of Riyadh Season in Saudi Arabia to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The winner of the highly-anticipated bout will also unify the division for the first time since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in March 1999.
The highly-anticipated bout between Fury and Usyk had been scheduled to take place on February 17 but was postponed after Fury sustained an injury during camp.
The Gypsy King suffered a severe cut above his right eye while sparring, forcing the Saudi Arabian bout to be pushed back until May 18.
However, Groves is concerned Fury could still put out of the bout – claiming the postponement gave him a ‘feeling that the fight will never happen’.
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George Groves believes Tyson Fury could still pull out of the undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk and claims the WBC will do nothing about it
Fury sustained a nasty laceration above his right eye which has postponed his fight until May
Groves also took a swipe at the WBC – claiming they wouldn’t ‘pressure’ Fury or penalise him for pulling out of the fight.
However, Fury is adamant the fight will take place on May 18 – insisting he is focused on beating the Ukrainian boxer.
When speaking to Betway, the former Super-Middleweight World Champion said: ‘I’ve said since the start – I’ll believe it when I see it.
‘I don’t think Fury has ever fancied the Usyk fight. He’s talking about having 10 more fights, but if he loses to Usyk how does that work?
‘It’s a massive risk for him to fight Oleksandr Usyk. He’s probably really hoping that Usyk can’t take a body shot.
‘When the fight got postponed after the cut, I wasn’t surprised. It gave me the feeling that this fight will never happen.
‘I’d be interested to know whether the media have paid upfront for their flights and hotels, or whether they’re holding off.
‘We saw Eddie Hearn almost say that Joshua-Fury trumps Fury-Usyk after AJ beat Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.
Fury – who required 15 stitches after getting caught by Agron Smakici’s elbow in training – finished his conditioning in Saudi before returning to the UK
‘I thought to myself, I bet Fury would rather have a bit of Joshua than Usyk because he’ll see that as an easier fight.
‘People are starting to consider that AJ beats Fury after both of their performances against Ngannou, so it would not be a surprise if Fury wants to set the record straight and fight Joshua next and leave Usyk out.
‘The Saudis or the WBC aren’t going to pressure Fury to fight Usyk, so maybe he’s thinking he will go down the Ngannou route again, or fight Joshua.
‘That’s the fight everyone really wants to see. I don’t believe if he pulls out he’s going to have to pay a $10million fine.
‘Usyk is probably thinking ‘I don’t know if this guy is going to show up’ because there’s still a chance Fury pulls out.’
Groves went on to speak about Anthony Joshua’s quality, claiming he could have beaten prime David Haye.
He said: ‘Joshua would have beaten David Haye. Haye has massive one punch power, but look at their resumes at heavyweight – they are night and day.
‘Joshua would win. Haye would want to keep it double distance and look to strike. Joshua has been a bit static, but I’d have to go AJ.’
