Tyson Fury has insisted he will refuse to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the IBF heavyweight title - putting an undisputed fight in jeopardy.
The 'Gypsy King' has made a U-turn on his plans to retire and will return to action this weekend in a voluntary defence of his WBC title against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. A win is expected to set up an undisputed title clash with Usyk, who called out Fury following his rematch victory over Anthony Joshua in August.
Negotiations are ongoing for the potential showdown, despite suggestions the IBF could force the Ukrainian to instead take on mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic - but Fury is not interested in fighting for the belt anyway.
“It’s only the s**tty IBF title, which I wouldn’t box for anyway," Fury responded in an interview with iFL TV when asked about the IBF potentially delaying his shot at Usyk. "The undisputed [crown] won’t be on the line for me because I won’t box for the IBF, that is a fact. I wouldn’t pay sanctioning fees for the IBF... they will never ever, ever, ever get to put a red belt on The Gypsy King. [They stripped me] In about four days I think, about four or five days."
Fury won the IBF belt when he defeated Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, but after the contracted rematch was arranged, Fury was stripped of the belt for not facing his mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov. He later withdrew from the sequel with Klitshcko after suffering with mental health issues and later tested positive for cocaine during a VADA drug test.
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The 'Gypsy King' is not confident a fight will be made having already been denied his shot with Usyk electing to take a break following his gruelling exploits this year. The Ukrainian is expected to be ringside at Fury's fight in London, and has stated he wants the fight to take place in early 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 said. "For me, the idea would be to fight maybe early February or the beginning of March, like March 4, because I am an orthodox Christian. 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."
