Boxing history will be made on Saturday night in Riyadh when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk contest the first undisputed heavyweight world title fight of the four-belt era.
It's been a long time coming after a couple of delays, but as fight night finally approaches, here is everything you need to know about the 'Ring of Fire' event.
What is it?
'Ring of Fire' is a boxing event headlined by the undisputed world title fight between heavyweight champions Fury and Usyk. Lineal champion Fury holds the WBC title while Usyk holds the other three belts – WBA, WBO and IBF.
It will be the first time two heavyweight champions have fought for all four belts. The last time boxing's top division had an undisputed champion was Lennox Lewis in 1999 when the British fighter won all three world titles. Since then, the WBO has been elevated to full world title status.
Before the main event, there will be nine supporting fights, including two more world title bouts.
Where is it?
The event will take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It will be the third major boxing event hosted at the arena, following Anthony Joshua's victorious bouts against Otto Wallin in December last year and Francis Ngannou in March.
When is it?
'Ring of Fire' takes place on Saturday, May 18, with the fights starting at 8pm UAE time.
Who is fighting?
The event is headlined by the two best heavyweights on the planet. Fury is the reigning two-time world and lineal champion who is yet to taste defeat in his 35-fight professional career. After becoming a unified champion with a career-defining win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Fury struggled with mental health and substance abuse problems and was out of the ring for three years.
He returned to once again rule the division with successive knockout wins over long-reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder in 2020 and 2021 after their first fight ended in a controversial draw. The 35-year-old Briton has since reeled off three more victories, although he narrowly escaped embarrassment with a split-decision win against MMA star and boxing novice Francis Ngannou in his last fight in October.
Usyk also enters the ring with a perfect record from his 21 professional fights. The 37-year-old Ukrainian first made a name for himself at cruiserweight, where he became the undisputed world champion and arguably the finest fighter in the division's history.
Upon making the step up to heavyweight and after a couple of adjustment fights, Usyk challenged Anthony Joshua for the unified world titles in 2021 and duly outclassed the champion. He retained his titles in a rematch 11 months later in Jeddah, albeit in a much closer fight that ended in a split decision.
Usyk, who had one more successful title defence against Daniel Dubois last August, is aiming to become the first fighter to become four-belt undisputed champion of both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Should he win on Saturday night, he will also be only the third male fighter to hold all four world titles in two weight classes after American Terence Crawford and Japan's Naoya Inoue.
Who is on the undercard?
The undercard features nine fights and will be led by the IBF cruiserweight world title rematch between Australian sensation Jai Opetaia and three-time champion Mairis Briedis.
Unbeaten Opetaia beat Briedis on points in their first fight two years ago but was later stripped of the title after failing to fight his mandatory challenger. He will now aim to become a two-time world champion.
Before that will be the first world title fight of the night as IBF super-featherweight champion Joe Cordina defends his belt against British rival Anthony Cacace.
Full undercard:
- Jai Opetaia v Mairis Briedis (for vacant IBF cruiserweight title)
- Joe Cordina v Anthony Cacace (for Cordina's IBF super featherweight title)
- Frank Sanchez v Agit Kabayel (heavyweight)
- Moses Itauma v Ilija Mezencev (heavyweight)
- Mark Chamberlain v Joshua Wahab (lightweight)
- Sergey Kovalev v Robin Sirawn Safar (light-heavyweight)
- Daniel Lapin vs. Octavio Pudivtr (light-heavyweight)
- David Nyika vs. Michael Seitz (cruiserweight)
- Isaac Lowe vs. Hasibullah Ahmadi (featherweight)
When will the ring walks take place?
Fury and Usyk are expected to make their walks to the ring at 2.05am UAE time on Sunday morning. Depending on the length of the preceding fights, it could be a little later.
What is the fight week schedule?
Before fight night, there is plenty happening in the Saudi capital. The Grand Arrivals will take place on Tuesday, which will see all the fighters presented to fans and media at the boulevard. Open workouts will then be held on Wednesday before a final press conference on Thursday and the weigh-ins on Friday.
How to watch the fight in the UAE?
The fight is available to watch on DAZN. For more details, visit www.dazn.com/en-AE/welcome
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