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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Harry Davies

Oleksandr Usyk offers Tyson Fury bare-knuckle fight amid claim Brit ducked bout

Oleksandr Usyk would be willing to fight Tyson Fury in the streets after the pair's undisputed fight fell through.

Fury was in talks to face Usyk in a deal which would have seen Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte step aside from their planned fights with the heavyweight champions.

But talks broke down and Fury opted to face mandatory challenger Whyte instead, with Usyk expected to fulfil his rematch against Joshua.

Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn blamed Fury for the deal collapsing, but 'The Gypsy King' claimed Joshua wanted an extra £5million to step-aside.

Fury labelled Usyk as a "p****" and said the Ukrainian didn't want to fight him, but Usyk has denied the claims and issued a new challenge to his British rival.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury were linked to an undisputed fight (Getty Images)

"He's lying, I never duck anybody. If he wants I can fight him right now, with bare knuckles in the street. In all my career, I never ducked anybody," he told Behind the Gloves.

"I even went to Moscow [to fight Murat Gassiev] when the situation between the countries were very tight, I showed everyone what I'm capable to do.

"It's boxing, anything can happen we know that. I think Fury will take it seriously and have good preparation for that fight, my opinion."

Fury will fight in the UK for the first time since 2018 when he meets Whyte on April 23 at Wembley Stadium.

His promoter Frank Warren won a record-breaking £31m purse bid for the world title fight, with Fury taking home 80 per cent and Whyte receiving the remainder.

Usyk doesn't know why his undisputed fight with Fury collapsed but has backed the Brit to defend his belt against Whyte.

"I don't know who was offered what, I know only one thing. From our side when we were offered, we signed the paper right away," he added.

Can Dillian Whyte hand Tyson Fury the first loss of his career? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below

"We were sitting quietly waiting for the news, but then the news came out that Fury has to fight with Whyte and that [the undisputed fight] is not happening.

"Maybe it's a possibility after this fight, it's not going to be tight with the sanctions. The winner of Usyk vs Joshua can fight the winner of Fury vs Whyte."

Usyk's rematch with Joshua could be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium - where their first fight took place - or in the Middle East.

Joshua lost his titles to the former cruiserweight champion Usyk last September and has backed to try and avenge his loss since that fight.

Fury doubts whether Joshua will accept the second fight but has backed Usyk to win again if it does take place.

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