Usyk-Fury set Dec. 21 rematch in Saudi Arabia

The heavyweight championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will take place on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority Turki Alalshikh announced on Wednesday.

Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion when he beat Fury via a split decision victory in their first highly anticipated fight earlier this month. One judge scored the fight 114-113 for Fury but was overruled by scores of 114-113 and 115-112 for the Ukrainian.

Usyk is the first unified heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in a 1999 rematch in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, it was Fury’s first defeat of his professional career.

The pair had signed a two-fight deal that included a rematch on Oct. 12, but Alalshikh’s announcement confirms that date has been pushed back to the end of 2024.

Alalshikh said in a post on Twitter: “The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season…The world will watch another historical fight again… Our commitment to boxing fans continues…We hope you enjoy it.”

Fury said in the ring after their first fight that he will look to correct his record in the rematch.

“I believe I won the fight, but I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses,” Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them. What can you do? We both put on a good fight, the best we could do. … People are siding with the country at war. But make no mistake, I won that fight … and I’ll be back. We’ve got a rematch clause.”

The fight was a particularly brutal one. Fury absorbed 14 unanswered punches in Round 9 that resulted in the eighth knockdown of his career. Usyk appeared at the post-fight news conference with four stitches in his right eye and severe swelling around both eyes.

Both fighters also endured long training camps after the fight was postponed from its Feb. 17 date due to a cut Fury suffered during sparring that required 11 stitches over his right eye.

Jose Mohan, president of the Middle East Boxing Commission, told ESPN on Wednesday that Usyk received a medical suspension until July 2 while Fury was handed mandatory one week of rest.

“Both of ’em at the moment are both [medically] suspended because of how much the fight took out of them,” Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, told ESPN on Tuesday. “It is a tough fight. Those guys were in an epic, epic battle.”

Information from ESPN’s Michael Coppinger contributed to this report.