Fury Vs. Usyk Start Time, Full Fight Card Details

After a couple of delays (see why here and here), the long awaited showdown between Heavyweight bombers, Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk, will finally go down later TODAY (Sat., May 18, 2024) inside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia live on DAZN pay-per-view (PPV). In the co-main event, Jai Opetaia will battle Mairis Briedis for vacant IBF world Cruiserweight title.

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Fury and Usyk were originally set to throw down in December before “Gypsy King” bowed out after a poor outing against Francis Ngannou, which he won. The bout was re-scheduled for February before Fury, once again, bowed out after he suffered a major cut during sparring, prompting the fight to be delayed a few more months. Now, Fury — the current WBC heavyweight champion — will finally be able to put hands on the WBA, IBF, WBO and The Ring heavyweight titleholder. While Fury may have underestimated Ngannou, which lead to a sub-par showing, he won’t make that mistake against the undefeated 21-0 Ukrainian, who is the only may who can say he has two wins over Anthony Joshua. “Gypsy King” has proven to be one of the best big men on the planet thanks to his 34-0-1 record with 24 knockouts, but has he met his match?

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Usyk rose to the ranks as one of the best big men in the game after 10 years of taking on some of the best, but his resume doesn’t compare to Fury’s. That said, “The Cat” has a chance to take it to yet another level with a win over one of the most enigmatic fighters in the history of the sport. Fury will have the obvious size and reach advantage. but once Usyk gets up close and personal he has the knockout power to sleep anyone, and Fury has been dropped a few times before. Fury has tasted the power of Deontay Wilder and Francis Ngannou, but Usyk has proven to be an entirely different beast. Both men are rested, fresh and energized to get back into the swing of things, and this could very well turn into one of the best boxing fights we’ve seen in a long time.

How The ‘Prelims’ Look:

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Isaac Lowe vs. Hasibullah Ahmadi will throw down in an eight-round Featherweight bout in the opening fight of the night. Lowe is coming in with a record of 24 wins, two losses and a whopping three draws. He does have eight knockouts to his name, as well. He will have a slight height advantage over Ahmadi, who is 16-0-1 and coming into the fight as the underdog.

26 year-old Daniel Lapin will put his 9-0 record on the line when the Ukranian-born combatant faces Octavio Pudivitr, fighting out of Portugal. Lapin is a southpaw with three knockouts to his name, while Pudvitr has one more finish to brag about with four. Both men started their pro careers in 2019, and are making strides to become future title contenders. One man will take a huge leap here, and get to show their stuff in the opening fight of the biggest boxing event of the year.

Interest Level: 7.5/10

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In the co-main event, Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis will throw down in a rematch two years in the making. In their first outing back in July 2022, Opetia defeated Briedis via unanimous decision to win the IBF and The Ring Cruiserweight titles, so Briedis has revenge on his mind. On the flip side. Opetaia now has more confidence coming into the rematch. With a 24-0 record with 19 knockouts, Opetaia is out to make it 2-0 against Briedis — who hasn’t competed since the loss — to finally put him in the rearview mirror.

Joe Cordina will put his IBF World Super Featherweight title on the line against Anthony Cacace. Cordina is undefeated at 17-0 with nine knockouts and is coming off a successful title defense over Edward Vasquez. The 32-year old Welsh boxer has a tough task in IBO Super Featherweight champion, Cacace, who will be riding a six-fight win streak into the fight. The Irish champion has an overall record of 21-1 and is looking to become undisputed king for the first time.

In a Heavyweight slugfest, Agit Kabayel and Frank Sanchez collide in a battle of unbeaten big men. Sanchez sits at 24-0 with 17 knockouts, with Kabayel not too far behind at 24-0 with 16 knockouts. This fight has the high probability in ending in a finish, so don’t blink. The winner of this fight will set himself up as a contender for the WBC throne currently in the hands of Tyson Fury, so a lot is on the line including money and plenty of potential glory. It will likely be a while before Fury is ready to defend pending the outcome of his fight, but let’s not put the cart before the horse.

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After losing his WBO Light Heavyweight title to current undisputed champion and pound-for-pound king, Canelo Alvarez (see it again here), Sergey Kovalev bounced back with a big win over Tervel Pulev. He still has his eyes on potentially winning gold again, but the first task at hand is a showdown against Robin Sirwan Safar, the undefeated Swedish boxer who boasts a 16-0 record with 12 knockouts. Kovalev has the experience here, but Safar has knockout power to send Kovalev to the back of the line again. The 32-year old has a huge opportunity to raise his stock with a win.

Mark Chamberlain looks to improve on his impressive 73-percent knockout ratio when he battles Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab in a Lightweight affair. Chamberlain (15-0) is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Gavin Gwynne in Riyadh just two months ago, so ring rust will definitely not be an issue for him. Wahab, meanwhile, is 23-1 with 16 knockouts. The Nigerian-born fighter has a knockout ratio just under 70-percent. and taking Chamberlain out will undoubtedly be the biggest feather in his cap to date.

Two undefeated Cruiserweights will square off as David Nyika (8-0) takes on Michael Seitz (12-0). Nyika won the bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics for New Zealand and only turned pro just three years ago, winning seven of his eight fights via KO/TKO. As for Seitz, the German-born boxer is 12-0 with 10 knockouts to his name.

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19-year old Moses Itauma made his pro debut a year and a half ago, and already has amassed an impressive record of 8-0 with six knockouts. He has all the makings of a potential Heavyweight champion, but he has a ways to go before he starts fighting for titles. And his next challenge is far from a walk in the park because Ilija Mezencev has a ton of experience under his belt with a record of 25-3, and has a whopping 21 knockouts to boast of. The 28-year old orthodox striker has a chance to steal Itauma’s shine here.

Enjoy the fights!

Full Fight Card:

Fury vs. Usyk Fight Card on DAZN PPV:

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk; for IBF, WBA, WBC and WBO world heavyweight titles
Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis; for vacant IBF world cruiserweight title
Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace; for Cordina’s IBF world super featherweight title
Agit Kabayel vs. Frank Sanchez; heavyweight
Sergey Kovalev vs. Robin Sirwan Safar; cruiserweight
Moses Itauma vs. Ilja Mezencev; heavyweight
Mark Chamberlain vs. Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab; lightweight
David Nyika vs. Michael Seitz; cruiserweight

Fury vs. Usyk ‘Prelims’ Card on YouTube:

Isaac Lowe vs. Hasibullah Ahmadi; featherweight
Daniel Lapin vs. Octavio Pudivitr; light heavyweight

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