On Friday, the world of sports was expected to be glued to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury squared off to unify the heavyweight belts.
However, the bout was called off and will now happen on May 18 after Fury(34-0-1, 24KOs) from England was injured during sparring three weeks ago.
Mauricio Sulaiman the WBC president has spent his weekend in London, visiting the Repton Amateur Boxing Club and talking with the media, all the while regretting what could have been.
“It’s boxing. It happens, and I’m sure it’s going to be an even bigger fight now. The frustration they both have to endure, so much sacrifice, so much patience, so much work put in, and then one cut and everything is delayed. But they’re back in the gym. I spoke to Tyson a couple of days ago. He’s fine, he’s ready to continue and it’s going to be one of the best events in the history of boxing on May 18,” said Sulaiman in media reports.
When word of the cut spread, Usyk's team fumed, and the last time two heavyweights shared the titles was when Lennox Lewis overcame Evander Holyfield 25 years ago. Sulaiman gave an explanation for his belief that promoter Alex Krassyuk and manager Egis Klimas of Usyk were incensed about the postponement.
“It’s only the heated state of mind. So much is on the line. This is a fight that has not taken place in 25 years, it’s a fight that has tried to take place for the past five years – with making an undisputed heavyweight champion – now that it’s here, from one little moment [incident], it’s out. It’s the heat of the moment, it will be okay,” said Suleiman.
Sulaiman continued, saying that the WBC has backed both Usyk and Fury's initial fight as well as the scheduled rematch between Fury, 35, the WBC champion, and Usyk(21-0, 14KOs) a 37-year old Ukrainian boxer, the IBF, WBA, and WBO champion. The WBC president also discussed the potential use of video replays for the heavyweight contest in May.
“The WBC has had instant replay for 12 years. We have a protocol, a clear process of how to do things. It is mostly intended for fight-ending situations that are controversial,” explained Suleiman.
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