Frank Warren expects Tyson Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed titles early next year.
The 'Gypsy King' elected to call off his retirement plans after watching Usyk defeat his bitter rival Anthony Joshua for the second time back in August. He called for an undisputed shot at Usyk but after extensive talks between both camps, they were put on hold with the unified champion opting to take a break until next year before returning to the ring.
After holding negotiations with several opponents to try and find a replacement fight for his targeted return date, Fury will now take on rival Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 3. Despite talks currently being on hold for a shot at crowning the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis, Fury's promoter Warren believes a fight will take place next year.
"I do not expect Usyk to vacate his WBO belt, I expect him to fight Tyson providing he comes through this December," Warren told Mirror Fighting at the press conference to announce Fury's fight with Chisora. "I think Tyson will come through with all four belts, and then the winner will have to decide what they want to do with them.
"There is not a date as of yet this is why we are getting Tyson to do this fight [against Chisora] but hopefully it will be at the end of February or in early March. We are working on a number of various sites and we will see where it lands. He respects all fighters but he thinks he has the beating of Usyk and so do I."
Usyk returned to Ukraine after his win over Joshua to spend time with his family and recover after the fight before reports indicated that the fight would no longer take place this year. Despite revealing he would be instead willing to hand Deontay Wilder a title shot, it is expected that he will wait for Fury before pursuing any alternative options.
Who wins if the pair meet - Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk? Let us know in the comments section below
Neither fighter will likely have any mandatory obstacles to fulfil before any fight can be arranged, with Fury's co-promoter Bob Arum insisting talks are already back underway to secure the fight. "Egis and Oleksandr Usyk will be there [Vasyl Lomachenko's next fight] and I'll be having dinner with them without any question," Arum told Sky Sports.
"So I'll have a very long discussion with them about what their plans are and when it could be in their best interests to get the fight on. I know from previous conversations with both of them that they want that fight against Tyson Fury.
"If there's anybody around who really has a good, good chance with Tyson Fury, it's Oleksandr Usyk. We're not signing for anything until the Chisora fight is over. I don't count my chickens before they're hatched. I'll wait for that fight to be over."
