Queensberry promoter Frank Warren says that Tyson Fury "needs some time" away from camp before preparing to fight Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight undisputed fight.
In the build-up to the cross-over fight between Fury and former UFC star Francis Ngannou, a lot of the talk was about a proposed December 23 date.
Fury, himself, stated in the build-up that Usyk had to fight him on that date or he would be in breach of contract.
However, there is now little chance of that happening in 2023 after the British boxer got off the canvas to edge out Ngannou - making his professional boxing debut - by split-decision.
While there is an argument that Fury won enough rounds to secure that verdict, he was on the receiving end of the harder shots and suffered a minor cut to his forehead.
In the ring after the fight, Usyk made a point of saying that he wanted to fight in less than two months time, possibly in response to Fury's previous insistence that there was no leeway to reschedule.
This was Oleksandr Usyk's reaction when Francis Ngannou knocked down Tyson Fury! 😳#BattleOfTheBaddest | #FuryNgannou pic.twitter.com/ymUzxYAMZC
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 29, 2023
Nevertheless, speaking to the 5 live boxing podcast, Warren has effectively ruled out the possibility of Fury returning to the ring on that date.
Warren said: "We were going to do it on 23 December. I doubt that will happen now. Tyson can't be going into a camp after a tough fight like that. That's eight weeks away.
"He needs at least a bit of time to get himself, his body, back into shape. Let it heal. Then get into a camp. It will be on early next year.
"Riyadh season finishes in March, so [Fury-Usyk] could take place up until March."
That would free up Ngannou to take another high-profile boxing showdown, with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn already acknowledging that he would like to see Anthony Joshua face the Cameroonian-Frenchman.
Darren Plant
