It’s A Legacy Fight For Both Fighters And It Needs To Happen

Moments after he defended his heavyweight titles against Anthony Joshua in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk called out the only fighter who matters to him (or to anybody else): Tyson Fury.

But Fury is retired, right? Yes, retired with a wink and a grin. It didn’t take Fury long to reciprocate Usyk’s challenge and tell boxing’s powerbrokers to “get your (bleeping) checkbook out” for his inevitable clash with the Ukrainian.

Here’s Fury presumably coming out of retirement announcement:

For sure, Fury isn’t playing. Checkbooks aside, he knows what a victory over Usyk would mean to his legacy that he has never failed promote. He keeps bull-horning that “The Gypsy King” is the greatest ever. But, without a triumph over Usyk, can he even boast that he is the greatest of his generation? Because some pundits believe Usyk is the best.

Fury is also a ravenous boxing historian and knows an Usyk battle will give him the opportunity to unify the heavyweight championship. Fury has the WBC strap, while Usyk possesses the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts. The title hasn’t been under one champion since Lennox Lewis held all the gold 22 years ago.

Usyk also knows his legacy will suffer, if he never fights Fury. He made a point to bring up “The Gypsy King” moments after conquering Joshua in a split-decision in their rematch.

“I’m sure that Tyson Fury is not retired yet,” said Usyk, ESPN’s No. 2 heavyweight and No. 6 pound-for-pound boxer. “I’m sure. I’m convinced he wants to fight me. I want to fight him. And if I’m not fighting Tyson Fury, I’m not fighting at all.”

A proposed Usyk-Fury bout, one Saudi Arabia is reportedly targeting for December, would be one of boxing’s biggest jackpots, but it’s a bout that likely won’t happen until 2023.

Fury claimed he was retired after a knockout victory over Dillian Whyte in April, only to announce a comeback fight earlier this month against Derek Chisora. But talks of a Chisora fight fizzled and Fury once again vowed that he was retired.

But then Usyk won, and Fury changed his mind on the retirement thing yet again. He said of both Usyk and Joshua: “I will annihilate both of them on the same night.” Hopefully, he gets one of them — Usyk — to see if he can unify the heavyweight crown, and if he wins, Fury’s claim that he is the greatest gets a little more credance.