In case you missed it, the highly anticipated undisputed heavyweight world championship showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been postponed
The Englishman suffered a cut above his eye in the final stages of his preparation for the fight, throwing an almighty spanner in the works.
Event organiser, Turki Alalsheikh, released a statement confirming the entire event had been postponed, meaning, unfortunately for the undercard fighters, their plans have also come unstuck.
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There were reports suggesting Filip Hrgovic could step up to fight Usyk, potentially saving the card, but the messaging out of Saudi Arabia appears to dispute that.
In light of Tyson Fury’s unexpected injury, we’re sending our best wishes for his swift and full recovery 🙏
As a result, the eagerly awaited #RingOfFire heavyweight championship will be rescheduled
Not to worry, your ticket refunds are on us ❤️
Stay tuned for further… pic.twitter.com/S3tFsABEOZ
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) February 2, 2024
What Tyson Fury’s injury means for Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Brieidis 2
While the Fury vs. Usyk bout is most certainly the main attraction, there was set to be plenty of interest in the chief support.
The Ring cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia was set to rematch multiple-time champion Mairis Briedis for the vacant IBF title at 200-pounds.
Opetaia vacated the IBF title late last year after the sanctioning body threatened to strip him should he go ahead with a bout against Ellis Zorro in Riyadh.
Rather than turn down the opportunity, Opetaia dropped the strap and knocked Zorro out in the first round.
The undefeated Australian was set to get the chance to regain the title against Briedis, the man he dethroned for it back in July 2022, before the Fury injury torpedoed those plans.
At 39, Brieidis isn’t getting any younger and you’d have to think any delay in the bout would only favour the 28-year-old southpaw, particularly given the Latvian’s now-18-month absence from the ring.
Fury reportedly required 15 stitches in his eye and, once healed, will likely need several months for a fight camp.
Additionally, Ramadan runs from March 9-April 8 this year, ruling out that period as a potential landing spot.
Saudi officials have reportedly pencilled in a date of June 1 for the undisputed light heavyweight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, opening the door for a potential double-header with the heavyweight title bout.
Could Opetaia vs. Briedis 2 find its way onto a different card in the meantime?
IBF super featherweight champion Joe Cordina and his challenger, Anthony Cacace are in the same position.
Perhaps Alalsheikh could see fit to move them onto the March 8 card, headlined by Anthony Joshua taking on Francis Ngannou, in which Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker are currently the chief support.
It remains to be seen whether those fighters whose preparations had been aimed at peaking on February 17 will be willing and able to recalibrate their camps for a date three weeks later.
All that’s to say the stray elbow which caught Fury in sparring is giving some fighters and their teams some great big headaches.
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