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Tyson Fury confirms next fight just days after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in heavyweight title showdown

Tyson Fury is expected to be back in the ring within five months after suffering his first professional defeat on Saturday.

The two-time world champion was defeated by Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia last weekend after going undefeated for his entire career. The pair’s meeting saw the first undisputed heavyweight champion crowned in the four-belt era as he fell to a split decision.

Much has been made about what is next for both men, but neither were keen to guarantee anything immediately following the hard-hitting brawl. They had both undergone double camps after their initial February fight date was postponed due to the Brit suffering a cut.

Tyson Fury confirms Oleksandr Usyk rematch after losing undisputed fight

Fury and Usyk had signed a two-fight deal going into their undisputed clash in Saudi Arabia, but neither confirmed the rematch in the aftermath of their 12-round contest. But Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has now said that he will exercise his rematch clause for an October turnaround.

Speaking on TalkSPORT in what ended up being an heated exchange with Simon Jordan and Jim White, Warren explained that Fury is recovering well and keen to have a second fight with Usyk. “He’s back here and recuperating,” he said.

Oleksandr Usyk punches Tyson Fury in a boxing match
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

“His mood is that he wants the rematch and that’s already signed for so that will happen.” Asked for when it will take place, Warren replied: “In October,” and confirmed that it would take place in Riyadh, where the initial bout happened.

“He’s disappointed,” Warren added. “He’s got his view on how the fight ended and a few people have differing views, the majority in favour of the fact that Usyk won the fight and it was a great fight because there were two warriors in there who gave everything.

“They never left anything behind and it was probably, well actually, it was the best heavyweight fight of this century. There’s no doubt about that. It was a great fight and it was two guys at the top of their game.”

Tyson Fury planning to take some time off before re-entering training camp

Luckily for Fury, the two-fight deal was already done before he fought Usyk and he won’t have to re-enter negotiations for their rematch. The pair’s purse split is likely already determined and they will both once again pocket obscene amounts of money in exchange for bringing the fight to Saudi Arabia.

But the Brit is keen to have a little break after three camps back-to-back-to-back. He faced Francis Ngannou in October before immediately entering camp for that February date. And immediately once the cut that cost them a fight earlier in the year was healed, he was straight back to training.

Oleksandr Usyk holds a Ukraine flag while celebrating with his team and all of his belts after beating Tyson Fury
Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

“We’ve punched f*** out of each other for 12 rounds there,” Fury explained during his post-fight press conference on Saturday night. “So we’re going to go home, eat some food, drink a few beers, spend some family time, walk my dog, go to the tip.”

He also noted that he would do “more of the same” if the pair were to fight again, given his dominance in the early exchanges. It was a ninth round overhand that caused a significant turn in fortunes, and he is confident of getting a result if they square off again.

“Keep my defence a little bit tighter,” he said of his game plan. “A bit more focused, and not so much messing around because I was having fun in there. I was playing around, I was hitting him to the body, uppercuts to the head and I thought I was bossing the fight.”