Tyson Fury will have to wait until four days before Christmas for his dollar-laden rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
The betting odds are already stacking against Santa Claus delivering unto the Gypsy King revenge as a festive gift.
But the delay from the original date of October 12 to December 21 will be seen in some quarters as giving Fury an extra ten weeks to recover from the monstrous ninth round beating he took in their first fight which was crucial to Usyk becoming the first undisputed world heavyweight champion for a quarter of a century.
An underlying reason for the change in timing, however, is that another epic fight will give the Saudi Arabian paymasters a spectacular opening to the next Riyadh Season of sports, culture and star-studded entertainment events in the capital.
Hence His Excellency AlAlSikh had no need to announce the venue when he confirmed the date.
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Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury via split decision in their Saudi Arabia bout this month
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Saudi chief Turki Alalshikh has confirmed that the heavyweights will battle again in December
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Usyk became the first man in 25 years to unify the division after beating Fury this month
Tyson Fury ready for a rematch after losing against Usyk
In his post on X, Turki Alalshikh wrote: ‘The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season.
‘The world will watch another historical fight again…Our commitment to boxing fans continues…We hope you enjoy it..’
One thing that won’t alter appreciably is the division of the booty. The terms of the rematch were set in the original contracts for two fights, with Fury the great showman the A-side ticket and pay-TV attraction.
While he banked an estimated £100 million earlier this month, Usyk settled for £35 million. Poor chap!
While there may be somewhat of an adjustment in recognition of Usyk now owning all the belts, the percentages will still weigh heavily in Fury’s favour.
Nor is it likely that Usyk will still be undisputed by the time they fight again.
While the Ukrainian hero will still hold the WBC, WBA and WBO titles, the IBF are threatening to give Anthony Joshua a route back to their championship in a Wembley fight this September against the winner of this Saturday’s bout in Ryadh between Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.
