Fights don't get much bigger than Saturday's showdown between WBC champion Tyson Fury and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner of the bout will emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first man in boxing's glamour division to earn undisputed status of any form since Lennox Lewis was stripped of the WBA championship in 2000.
Boxing fans have been impatiently waiting for Fury and Usyk to share the ring for some time. Negotiations between the two fell apart several times before plans for a December 2023 clash were dashed when Fury was nearly defeated by Francis Ngannou in October. The fight was then rescheduled for Feb. 17, only for Fury to suffer a cut while sparring two weeks out from the fight.
The fighters are now set to move ahead when they meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with plenty of intrigue over how the fight will play out.
Fury is undefeated in 35 career fights, with the lone blemish on his record a 2018 draw in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder. He won his first world title with a 2015 decision victory over Wladimir Klitschko to claim the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Fury then put on substantial weight and dealt with several injuries before failed drug tests sidelined him for over two years, costing him his world titles in the process.
The first fight with Wilder came two fights after Fury's return to boxing and many observers felt the 'Gypsy King' had clearly done enough to win the fight, even rising from a late knockdown that would have finished nearly any other fighter on the planet. Three fights later, Fury and Wilder were in the ring once again, with Fury dominating the fight before a stoppage in Round 7 to win the WBC title. An 11th round knockout over Wilder was next as Fury cemented his place atop the division.
Fury went on to easily handle Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora before disaster nearly struck against the former UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou. Fury appeared out of shape for the fight and struggled to handle a fighter making his boxing debut, even having to rise from the canvas after a clean shot in the third round before taking a narrow split decision.
"I predict that somebody's '0' has got to go. And it's going to be that team over there, unfortunately for them," Fury said this week. "Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter. Olympic gold medalist, cruiserweight world champion, heavyweight world champion. But, unfortunately for him, he has to come against the great Tyson Fury in the era of me. I'm really looking forward to Saturday night."
Usyk brings his own storied career to the ring with an unblemished 21-0 record.
After becoming WBO cruiserweight champion in 2016 and making two successful defenses of the title, Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament. The tournament featured eight fighters, including all four world champions.
In the tournament, Usyk defeated Marco Huck by TKO, defeated Mairis Briedis by majority decision to add the WBC title to his collection and took a unanimous decision over Murat Gassiev in the finals to capture the WBA and IBF titles and become undisputed cruiserweight champion.
Following a win over Tony Bellew, Usyk announced his intentions to move to the heavyweight division.
Usyk has continued his successful career since moving up, stopping Chazz Witherspoon and taking a decision over Chisora before getting a shot to become unified champion against Anthony Joshua.
Usyk put on a masterful boxing display against Joshua in September 2021, rattling the multi-time unified champion several times in the bout en route to a clear decision win. The pair would rematch the following year, with Usyk winning a more competitive fight by split decision.
"I feel good. I'm very happy to be here," Usyk said. "Saturday is a special day because I will have the opportunity to become undisputed for a second time. It's great. It's very good for me. It's very important for my country. I like that."
Last year saw Usyk defend his unified status again when he stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.
Let's take a closer look at the rest of the fight card with the latest odds before getting to predictions and expert picks on the main event.