Oleksandr Usyk has pretty much summed up what everyone else is thinking regarding his ongoing fight saga with Tyson Fury as both men prepare for the next bouts — just not against each other.
A deal between the two heavyweights looked to have been agreed earlier this year but was ultimately called off back in March following disputes over the final purse split, with both parties blaming the other and fight fans left frustrated.
Unsurprisingly, there has been plenty of choice words exchanged since, with John Fury even demanding Usyk “apologise for trying to bamboozle the public“, but now the 36-year-old has called on everyone involved to stop talking and start acting.
🗣 Oleksandr Usyk has called on Tyson Fury to make their undisputed heavyweight title fight happen 👀 pic.twitter.com/tZO6dhTe4Y
Speaking in an exclusive with TNT Sports, Usyk suggested that he has been handed the wrong opponent but that “this is part of the way and if I have this Englishman in my way now then I have to face him”.
ADVERTISEMENT
In an admittedly rare moment of pleasantry in what has been a typically trash-talk-filled build-up, the WBA, WBO and IBF holder said of Fury: “As a human being, I think he is a great person. I think he’s a great man, a great father, a great family man and as an athlete he’s brilliant as well.
Nevertheless, the nine-time title holder went on to say, “there’s too much words, instead of actions”, adding that “The whole world wants to see the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury and we have to make it. People are tired of talks. We need to do instead of talk.” He’s not wrong.
ADVERTISEMENT
As for Dubois, Usyk insisted that he won’t “underestimate him… I do [the same] volume of work in my training and with Daniel Dubois there is no exception… I train as hard as I can, as it’s possible, to achieve my goal in the ring”, though there is no doubt Usyk sees this as merely a stepping stone to get to Fury.
However, the 34-year-old admitted back in June that he is out of practice and could potentially face a “12-round disaster” if he were to fight him now, having been out of the ring pretty much ever since his fight against Derek Chisora back in December 2022.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Gypsy King has also been busy with other projects besides boxing in the interim too, with he and the rest of the Fury family revealing their new Netflix reality show late last month, which is set to air on 16 August.
As for younger brother Tommy, he has finally announced his next fight against yet another YouTube and social media personality in KSI, warning that he wants to end the recent influencer boxing trend “within 12 months”.
Featured Image — Oleksandr Usyk (via Twitter)/Tyson Fury (via Instagram)
Sport
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Manchester City finally release special Year of the Horse collection for Lunar celebrations
Danny Jones
Manchester City have officially launched their new ‘Year of the Horse’ kit, along with several other items in their latest lifestyle range.
The collection, which has been released as part of the Lunar New Year Celebrations, was leaked online in late 2025 before being officially teased earlier this year, but now Man City have fully unveiled the limited edition clothing items.
It follows the commercial success of their previous Chinese New Year-inspired kits and wider fashion lines over the last few seasons.
For anyone not up to speed on their Zodiac calendar knowledge, 2026 is officially (you guessed it) the year of the horse, hence this choice for the new ‘Capsule Collection’.
“Set in earthy, neutral tones, the limited-edition Year of the Horse Capsule Collection captures both the stillness of vintage Chinese portraiture and the motion of a team in full stride.”
Revolving around a grey and almost beige colour palette, the full drop includes a new pre-match ‘Anthem’ jacket, a dark graphic design tee, a baseball cap, as well as a soft horse plushie.
The focal point, however, is obviously the jersey itself – though it remains to be confirmed whether or not the special seasonal strip will be worn in any games this campaign as other one-off/special limited edition shirts have been in the past.
The price points range from £15 for the soft toy to £90 for the adult shirt, with the aforementioned Puma KING Anthem zip-up jacket already available in six colours.
What do you make of the latest lifestyle collection, Blues?
Somewhat fittingly, the Year of the Horse and other items finally debuted on the same day that their local rivals across the other side of town, Manchester United, released some new threads of their own: the second Adidas x The Stone Roses collection.
As for this years Lunar celebrations, the official plans for here in Manchester city centre have now been revealed. You can find out more down below.
Danny Jones -
2nd August 2023 
