26 October 2023 , 12:27
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Tyson Fury would have preferred for his undisputed clash against Oleksandr Usyk to be announced after fighting Francis Ngannou.
Fury could fight fellow heavyweight champion Usyk as soon as December 23 but will first have to get past former UFC champion Ngannou this Saturday. 'The Gypsy King' is refusing to look past Ngannou, who is making his boxing debut on the night, and admitted that if things had been done his way then a fight against Usyk wouldn't be made official until later on.
“It wasn’t my choice,” Fury said of the decision to announce his fight against Usyk on The MMA Hour. “I would never in a million years do that, but the people who are putting these fights on, who are paying the money, they’re in control.
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"They’re the promoters of the event so the paymaster does what the paymaster wants. If it was up to me, I would have never, ever, ever done that, because I never count chickens before they hatch.
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“I wasn’t happy at first for them to announce it, but there was a lot going on in the background. For me, I don’t concentrate on any other fight other than Saturday night.
"What happens in the future stays in the future. I’m living for today and in this moment. My moment now is to fight Francis for the baddest man on the planet title.
"When I’ve won that, only after I’ve won that... I won’t even think about my next until I’ve had a week off and spent some time with my family. I’ve been in camp for 12 weeks and [after that] then I’ll think about what’s happening next."
Fury's manager Spencer Brown insists that December 23 is still the targeted date despite Usyk hinting he may need more time to recover from injury. Ngannou has warned Fury that he won't be medically cleared in time to make a fight against Usyk happen this year.
Fury understands why his counterpart may have been offended by the Usyk booking and believes a fighter should never be looking ahead to a future bout when they already have one to focus on. “They should never announce fights before the first one happens because that’s how people get knocked out," he added.
"I’m not even looking at the next fight, I’m only concentrating on Francis. If it means breaking these two hands and getting a cut right through my eyebrow to win, I will do it. Don’t worry about that. Nothing else matters, only Saturday night."