Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk thrown into doubt as 'replacement fighter' named

Oleksandr Usyk's promoter fears Tyson Fury will withdraw from their undisputed clash and has named the replacement fighter should the British star pull out.

Fury vs. Usyk is less than a month away as the two heavyweight stars battle for undisputed status in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

They were supposed to clash in February until the self-proclaimed 'Gypsy King' suffered a cut in sparring, prompting him to back out.

And Alexander Krassyuk, who looks after Usyk's boxing career, isn't convinced Fury will turn up to fight on May 18.

"Usyk has actually had a triple camp for this fight," Krassyuk explained.

"He started in September for the fight to take place last December.

"We showed up to the Ngannou fight to step in the ring to announce the fight for the undisputed, but his team jumped and said he didn’t look that good, so Usyk gave him some space to prepare at his camp in Saudi Arabia.

"We were then meant to fight on Feb 17, then we were rescheduled for May."

He added: "Tyson Fury has withdrawn four times already from this fight.

"Remember that we were looking to fight last April; he pulled out of it then, too.

"That’s why we fought Daniel Dubois. This will be the fourth camp we have had for Tyson Fury.

"I’ve not got too much confidence in the rematch happening, by the way. If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to step inside the ring again?

"Theoretically he can, but we all know what happened in the rematch with Wladimir Klitschko."

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk face off. Image: Getty

If Fury is forced to withdraw again, then Team Usyk have an opponent lined up to take his place.

Krassyuk claims Filip Hrgovic will be drafted in to face the undefeated Ukrainian.

Hrgovic is scheduled to meet Daniel Dubois on June 1, but he will get the call up for the undisputed showdown should anything happen to the WBC title holder.

"The IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic will be the replacement if [Fury] does it again," Krassyuk revealed.

"He is getting ready for Daniel Dubois on June 1, but instead he will have to be ready on May 18 to replace Tyson for any reason.

"Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title. It was one of our conditions.

"The game is about being undisputed. It’s not about money - it’s about heritage, about glory.

"Tyson Fury says he doesn’t care about that, but at the press conference he was saying, 'Wow, the IBF, the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the Ring Magazine, the undisputed, the lineal', which I’ve never heard of."

Topics: Boxing, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar