{"id":123432,"date":"2024-01-18T11:14:14","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:14:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=123432"},"modified":"2024-01-18T11:14:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T16:14:31","slug":"fury-vs-usyk-then-what-for-the-heavyweight-division","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=123432","title":{"rendered":"Fury vs Usyk\u2026 Then What for the Heavyweight Division?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=123432\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=123432\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-123433 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/download-19-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/download-19-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/download-19.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The start of a new calendar year tends to be a time when boxing fans get excited about the big fights heading their way in the 12 months ahead.<\/p>\n<p>Heavyweight lovers won\u2019t have to wait long for their first taste of the big time, with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk locking up for all the marbles on February 17 in what appears to be boxing\u2019s new spiritual home: Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n<p>Once an undisputed champion has been crowned, the rest of 2024 will open up for the winner and become a year of redemption for the loser. So what other big heavyweight fights can we expect this year?<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Fury vs Usyk II<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paddypower.com\/boxing\/boxing-matches\/tyson-fury-v-oleksandr-usyk-32677283\">Fury vs Usyk odds<\/a> make the Brit a narrow -138 favorite, with the Ukrainian only just considered the underdog at +110.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paddypower.com\/boxing\">boxing betting lines<\/a> also make a points victory for either man the most likely outcome of the contest, so if the sportsbooks are right then this is a fight that could go into deep water.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Witness a historic clash like no other \ud83d\udd25 Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, both undefeated titans, face off in the Ring Of Fire \ud83d\udd25 Don&#8217;t miss the chance to witness history in Riyadh Season \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udde6 \ud83e\udd4a<\/p>\n<p>Book your ticket now \ud83c\udf9f\ufe0f<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/TyhImQlovT\">https:\/\/t.co\/TyhImQlovT<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/BigTime?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#BigTime<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RiyadhSeason?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RiyadhSeason<\/a>\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dgzVs3Y8RD\">pic.twitter.com\/dgzVs3Y8RD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Turki_alalshikh\/status\/1746489619351273715?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 14, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>That, rather than a one-sided fight, would greatly increase the likelihood of a rematch between Fury and Usyk, with reports suggesting that the pair have a two-way <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/boxing\/story\/_\/id\/38574282\/sources-tyson-fury-oleksandr-usyk-two-way-rematch-clause#:~:text=The%20deal%20for%20the%20undisputed,return%20bout%2C%20sources%20told%20ESPN.\">rematch clause<\/a> in their contract \u2013 as tends to be the case anyway these days.<\/p>\n<p>So, assuming that neither man blasts the other out inside three rounds, expect Fury vs Usyk II this summer no matter who wins their first scrap.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Champion vs Joshua<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>If no rematch is forthcoming, it\u2019s quite possible that the undisputed champion will then take on Anthony Joshua \u2013 if it\u2019s Fury who comes through as the winner, a long-awaited date with AJ at Wembley Stadium seems a possibility.<\/p>\n<p>He is the <a href=\"https:\/\/wbcboxing.com\/en\/heavy\/\">top-ranked WBC contender<\/a> and a much more appealing box-office prospect than the man who would likely have first dibs on a title fight later this year \u2013 Zhilei Zhang.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unlikely that the winner of Fury vs Usyk would give up the WBO gold, but if they did \u2013 to avoid facing interim champ Zhang \u2013 then Joshua would likely be the next in line.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Fury vs Ngannou II<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Of course, AJ has his hands full with another mountain of a man \u2013 Francis Ngannou, who he takes on in March.<\/p>\n<p>The former UFC champion impressed everybody with his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, forcing the ringside judges into a very uncomfortable decision from what was essentially an exhibition bout.<\/p>\n<p>Whether Ngannou can follow that up against Joshua is anybody\u2019s guess, but if he does secure the KO victory that he has predicted, the pugilist from Cameroon will rocket up the world rankings once more.<\/p>\n<p>That could force a rematch with Fury \u2013 whether he wins or loses against Usyk, and you suspect the Gypsy King would be interested in trying to right the wrongs of their original October meeting.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Champion vs Zhang<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>All of which rather leaves Zhang as the odd man out.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">NEVER SAY NEVER.<\/p>\n<p>The underdog Zhilei Zhang gets it done \ud83d\udca5 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gV4rR6pElN\">pic.twitter.com\/gV4rR6pElN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/trboxing\/status\/1647361145748213760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 15, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The 40-year-old has been forced to bide his time as he has climbed the heavyweight rankings, but as the WBO interim champion he is now in an enviable position \u2013 the winner of Fury vs Usyk will need to set a date to tackle the Chinese fighter or, potentially, relinquish the gold.<br \/>\nTwo wins over Joe Joyce showcased Zhang\u2019s power, and he will be hoping he can bring elite-level boxing back to China in 2024 \u2013 potentially taking on any of the men mentioned in this article.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The start of a new calendar year tends to be a time when boxing fans get excited about the big fights heading their way in the 12 months ahead. Heavyweight lovers won\u2019t have to wait long for their first taste of the big time, with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk locking up for all the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[31766],"class_list":["post-123432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-fury-vs-usyk-then-what-for-the-heavyweight-division"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=123432"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/123433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=123432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=123432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=123432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}