Oleksandr Usyk has insisted he will only fight Tyson Fury next and has called on the ‘unpredictable’ heavyweight champion to agree to a meeting during the first quarter of 2023.
The Ukrainian was last in the ring in August when he retained his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts with a split-decision victory over Anthony Joshua in Jeddah.
Talks over an undisputed heavyweight contest with WBC-belt holder Fury took place immediately after Usyk’s success in Saudi Arabia, but the Briton will instead take on Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next month.
It means the wait for all the titles to be on the line continues and, while Usyk is determined to fight Fury, his religious beliefs mean they must get in the ring by 4 March or be prepared to wait until later in 2023.
“Right now my team is seeking conversations with Tyson Fury and he is really an unpredictable person, so we can’t guarantee when,” Usyk told the PA news agency at the Web Summit in Lisbon.
“For me, the idea would be to fight maybe early February or beginning of March, like 4 March, because I am an orthodox Christian. During the great fasting before Easter I do not fight, so it should be all before or then after orthodox Easter [16 April].
“I want to fight with Fury because I need the fourth belt, and I don’t want to fight with anyone else until I have the fourth belt.”
Usyk was in Lisbon to speak alongside Parimatch Tech chief executive Maksym Liashko about the ongoing war in Ukraine and the importance of highlighting the actions of invaders Russia.
Usyk, 35, insisted that Ukrainian people would continue to “fight back against the aggressor and bully” but raised the possibility of fighting for the world heavyweight titles in Kyiv.
“The organisers are trying to figure out where they can earn more money,” the unbeaten southpaw said. “For me, yes, I would really like to fight in Ukraine and Ukraine is really capable of hosting this kind of fight.
“I would be really happy to see it happen in the Olympic Arena in Ukraine. But it is not me who chooses the venue, so I guess it will be Saudi Arabia.”
Before Usyk can turn his attention to an eventual meeting with Fury, he will watch on with interest on 3 December when the Briton does battle with compatriot Chisora for the third time.
Fury, 34, outpointed Chisora, 38, in 2011 before stopping the veteran in 2014.
“I don’t know why he needs this fight,” Usyk said of Fury. “Maybe he thinks because it would be one year without a fight, now he needs it. I think it is some manoeuvre, because I don’t know why he needs this.”
