BOXING CHIEFS 'DON'T WANT ANTHONY JOSHUA REPEAT' AS PLAN REVEALED FOR TYSON FURY AND OLEKSANDR USYK FIGHT
Boxing chiefs don't want the fight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua to take place late in the night on May 18 - with organisers keen to avoid a repeat of what happened when Anthony Joshua beat Francis Ngannou in March.
Fury and Usyk are currently preparing for their battle in Saudi Arabia, with both men eager to maintain their unbeaten records.
Back in March, Joshua beat Ngannou after British fans had to wait until around 12:25am to see the event get started.
Now, according to the Daily Record, boxing chiefs don't want history to repeat itself.
It's claimed the plan is for the huge fight to 'get going significantly earlier' with a rough time of 11pm pencilled in.
Still, fans won't need to stay up until the dead of night to see how the story unfolds - meaning they can still enjoy a lie-in on Sunday morning.
Fury has made it clear he'd be open to fighting Anthony Joshua once his clash with Usyk is out of the way.
However, the Gypsy King and the Ukrainian are primed for a second fight in October with a rematch clause already in place.
It will be fascinating to see who comes out on top, with excitement building as the seismic event creeps closer.
Fury has a point to prove, with the 35-year-old needing to be far better than he was during his own win over Ngannou in October.
The boxing star was floored in round three of the fight by Ngannou, who was taking part in his first professional boxing match.
And though Fury won via split decision, the flat nature of his performance has fans worried.
The Briton has stopped attempting to mock Usyk in recent weeks, too.
Speaking to Queensberry Promotions, Fury instead hailed his rival - insisting you'd be a 'mug' to underestimate him.
"Oleksandr Usyk’s a real bad man and to underestimate Usyk you’d be a mug," said Fury.
"So I’m training hard for him, I’m doing everything I can. I respect Usyk as a man.
"I respect his career as well – Olympic champion, undisputed cruiserweight champion, unified heavyweight champion.
"You have to respect that, I’m not fighting some guy who’s had 14 and won 11.
"I’m fighting the real deal – as real deal as Holyfield.
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"I’m looking forward to the challenge. He’s a southpaw, he’s got good footwork so they say, good boxing ability, technically sound.
"He’s proved he can mix it with the big heavyweights because he’s beat Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. I’m messing with an elite fighter."
Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, believes his man will come out on top later this month.
"He's in tremendous shape not just physically but mentally," he told talkSPORT.
"I'm confident we are going to get a vintage performance, I spoke to him during the week.
"He's in a very good shape I think, and although he had that cut it has come good as he has had back-to-back camps.
"Physically I have never seen him look so well. The worry was going straight into a training camp was that he'd peak too soon.
"He has worked really hard so that he is in his best nick on May 18.
"I just feel he is going to put on a magnificent performance and stop Usyk."
2024-05-08T15:18:52Z dg43tfdfdgfd