Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk date in December questionable after Ngannou fight

Tyson Fury got past Francis Ngannou — barely — and now all eyes turn to his undisputed championship clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

But if you’re still hoping the fight will happen on Dec. 23, which always seemed highly questionable, maybe pump the brakes on that.

For one thing, Fury suffered at least one cut in his split decision win over Ngannou, and he also sort of side-stepped questions about committing to the rumored Dec. 23 date.

“It isn’t up to me, I’m a fighter, he’s a fighter. I’m sure we’d go now. But if these guys will sort it all out, it’ll be on, it’ll be our next fight, guaranteed.”

This is a bit of a change from Fury’s comments earlier this week, where he said the fight had to be on Dec. 23 or Usyk would be in breach of contract. And to be clear, the two have signed contracts for the fight, but Dec. 23 was never 100 percent, officially announced.

“The whole world wants this fight,” Usyk said. He sounds ready for Dec. 23, but he was the only one who said as much.

Like Fury, promoter Frank Warren avoided answering whether Dec. 23 was “realistic,” having previously said in the post-fight interview carousel that Fury would make that decision because he’s “the boss.”

Warren also pointed out the cut, but said the fight is still going to happen, and that part is believable. The contracts are legitimately signed.

It really doesn’t seem like you should expect Fury vs Usyk on Dec. 23, but you should still expect to see the fight, probably in early 2024.