Although he must first deal with the sizeable challenge of Francis Ngannou, Tyson Fury has already turned his attention to preparations for a huge undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
If the reported date of December 23 comes off, WBC champ Fury will have just eight weeks to get tuned up for one of the most difficult challenges of his career once he steps out of the ring on October 28 after facing former MMA champion Ngannou.
The crossover contest is his first fight this year and comes ten months after his comparatively straightforward knockout of Dereck Chirosa in December 2021.
IBF, WBA and WBO champion Usyk has been much more active with a knockout of Daniel Dubois in August, and two points wins over Johsua in 2021 and 2022.
Over the weekend, The Ring Magazine and IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia retained his title by knocking out Brit Jordan Thompson in impressive fashion in just four rounds.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, Australian Opetaia revealed he has been approached by Fury for sparring.
‘Tyson Fury reached out. He messaged coach. We spoke about it before. I was supposed to go out there but the fight got cancelled. That will be a crazy experience, I look forward to doing stuff like that.”
With Usyk himself a former undisputed cruiserweight champion and a southpaw to boot, it makes perfect sense for Fury to reach out to Opetaia whose size and speed will replicate some of what he will be up against in Saudi Arabia in this much-anticipated fight.
It will be the first undisputed heavyweight contest in 24 years and represents the biggest fight in world boxing with predictions already rolling in from fellow contenders including Deontay Wilder.
The official date for Fury-Usyk will be announced following the Ngannou bout.