Fury said: “I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition. I feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed. I can only apologise to everyone affected, including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
He added on social media: “Can’t help getting injured in sparring but what I can say was Usyk was in trouble I am in fantastic shape. I will reschedule soon as I can. 2024 a massive year for team GK.”
Usyk’s promoter, meanwhile, posted a picture of the Ukrainian sparring in Spain, with the caption, “Usyk right now” and a face-palm emoji.
The Usyk-Fury showdown, which would have unified four heavyweight titles, had been described by Fury as a “fight for the ages.” It will be the definitive contest in the present heavyweight era. Both boxers are undefeated.
Fury holds the World Boxing Council belt, which he won in 2020 when he beat the American Deontay Wilder, a belt he has defended three times, against Wilder, Dillian Whyte and most recently against Derek Chisora. Fury also held the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Oranisation titles in 2015, when he defeated then lineal champion Wladimir Klitschko.
Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight king, moved up to the blue-riband division and has held the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles since beating Anthony Joshua in 2021. Usyk has since defended those titles twice, first against Joshua in Saudi Arabia and then against Daniel Dubois, in Poland last summer.
The last time boxing had a unified and undisputed heavyweight champion was in 2000 when Lennox Lewis held all four titles, after defeating Evander Holyfield.
A spokesperson for Queensberry Promotions, who had been handling the fight said: “It is clearly a massive disappointment after the work that has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world. Once the doctors have appraised Tyson’s eye we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed. Once known, we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible.”
