By Frank Dalleres
Tyson Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has cast doubt on whether he will be able to fulfill his heavyweight unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk on 23 December following his controversial and bruising win over Francis Ngannou.
Fury was awarded the victory over former mixed-martial arts fighter Ngannou by split decision on Saturday night in Riyadh, but only after suffering a cut to his forehead and being knocked down in the third round.
The WBC champion is due to fight Ukrainian Usyk, who holds the other heavyweight titles, next but Warren is reluctant to commit to staging the showdown on 23 December, a date Fury pre-emptively announced last week.
“I don’t think the date will be announced yet,” said Warren said. “But the fight is wanted. It’s done. These guys both want it. And it’s just a matter of now setting the date.
“Tyson’s got a cut there, so it’s no good saying a date once he’s got a cut on top of his head. Let’s see how that heals.
“But this fight is on. It’s the biggest fight in boxing. Everybody wants to see it, and they’re gonna see it here in Saudi, in Riyadh Season, where it’s gonna break all box office records.”
Fury insisted it was for his promoters to decide on a date for the eagerly anticipated show, which could see fellow Briton Anthony Joshua fight Deontay Wilder on the undercard.
“Listen, it’s not up to me,” he said after the fight with Ngannou. “I’m a fighter, he’s a fighter. I’m sure we’d go now. But listen, these guys will sort it all out and it’ll be our next fight, guaranteed.”
Fury was awarded the win 96-93 and 95-94 by two judges, with the third scoring it 95-94 to Ngannou, who impressed on his professional boxing debut.
Former heavyweight world champion Lennox Lewis said Fury was the rightful winner despite a sluggish performance, but fellow British boxer Chris Eubank claimed Ngannou had edged it.
Ngannou, meanwhile, indicated he would persevere with boxing, saying: “I’m gonna come back with a little more experience of the game.
“Now I know I can do this. The wolf is in the house. Tonight was to feel the water, and now I know the temperature.”
