Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk came face to face ahead of an undisputed heavyweight title fight next year.
Moments after Fury had stopped Derek Chisora in their trilogy fight, he called on Usyk, who was seated ringside at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, to join him between the ropes. Usyk obliged, climbing through then ropes before facing a barrage of abuse from his fellow world champion.
"Usyk you are next you little b****." You are getting it you little p****," Fury screamed. "I am not a bodybuilder. you sucker I am going to do you as well gappy teeth. You ugly little man. Let's get it on. You may laugh but I will end it now." The rivals had been pencilled in to clash before the end of this year after Usyk's points win over Anthony Joshua in August. But the Ukrainian declared he would not be ready until early next year, forcing Fury to offer Chisora a third attempt.
But the Londoner barely landed a blow before the referee brought a halt to the fight in the 10th round and Fury is now expected to fight Usyk in February or March with Saudi Arabia the frontrunners to play host. The Ukrainian won his three world titles at the same London football ground when he dethroned Anthony Joshua - and then repeated the trick in their desert rematch almost a year later.
A December clash between Fury and Usyk was mooted - with oil-rich Saudi Arabia eyeing the night before the World Cup Final in neighbouring Qatar for the glittering showpiece. But Usyk demanded more time to recover from his win over Joshua, pushing the four-belt showdown into the new year.
Either Fury or Usyk will be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 with Fury set to start as the odds-on favourite. But Usyk will have been left far from impressed by Fury's performance against Chisora, despite his dominance.
Chisora barely landed a blow in what was his second challenge for a world title and should have been pulled out by his corner before referee Victor Loughlin put him out of his misery with nine seconds of the 10th round remaining.
