The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight has reportedly been agreed, according to the Mancunian boxer’s American promoter, with an early 2023 date set to be announced soon.
Bob Arum of Top Rank – the company that represents Fury in the US – told Sky Sports on Wednesday, 21 December that “the two fighters have agreed to fight each other next” following the 34-year-old’s most recent trilogy fight against Derek Chisora, sealing yet another victory.
Taking aim at Anthony Joshua, Arum said that “With Fury and Usyk we’re dealing with two adults, not a lot of [rubbish] back and forth”, adding that he’s “very confident” the match-up will go ahead without any interim fights
For the longest time, the hope was that The Gypsy King would face off against Joshua in the much-anticipated all-British bout. However, after lots of ‘will they won’t they’ and AJ’s second defeat to Usyk in his August rematch, the appetite seems to have dwindled. Now, this is all fight fans seem to want:
Arum went on to insist that Usyk is a ‘good friend’, describing the Ukrainian as “very intelligent and Tyson [as] Superman, both as an athlete and as an intellect.”
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The promoter said that the only details left to firm up are the date and the venue, though he assured that the fight is definite and “will happen in the first four months of next year.” That’s what we like to hear.
As for where it will be held, despite numerous offers from the Middle East, he said that both camps are excited by the prospect of meeting on the world heavyweight champion’s home turf, admitting that “to go back to Wembley… before 95,000 people really stirs up the blood.”
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Despite Fury previously calling out his opposite number and suggesting that, like AJ, Usyk was too scared to fight him, it would seem the 35-year-old is more than up for the task He shared this just a few days ago:
So, it looks like we’ll be getting Fury vs Usyk early next year and, fingers crossed, on British soil. The atmosphere will no doubt be electric.
We can only hope this fight goes ahead as planned and doesn’t fall into the same trap AJ vs Fury did before fans lose patience and interest.
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Can Tyson take that final step towards unification before he ‘retires’ once again or will Usyk finally be the one to finally challenge the boxing juggernaut and dish out his first loss?
Featured Image — BT Sport/Tyson Fury/Oleksandr Usyk (via Instagram)
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An official Guinness Fan Zone is coming to Manchester for the Six Nations
Danny Jones
One of the biggest Guinness Fan Zones in the UK is coming to Manchester city centre for the Six Nations this February and the best part of all is, it’s absolutely free.
With the beloved rugby union tournament kicking off on Saturday, 4 February, Guinness are bringing their popular fan zone to our lovely city and just in time for the Wales vs Ireland game, not to mention England vs Scotland later the same day.
Popping up on Baring Street, Mayfield, just round the corner from Piccadilly Station, the Six Nations fan zone will be the biggest outside of London and runs all the way until Saturday 18 March.
Transformed into a dedicated space for rugby lovers to watch the match and enjoy a fresh pint of ice-cold Guinness, the fan zone festivities don’t stop there.
Credit: Supplied
To keep the party rolling, they will also be hosting a series of interactive shows, activities and live performances, including bagpipes, Irish dancers and more. There’s even an interactive beer wall – the first one to be available outside of rugby union’s historic home at Twickenham.
Once again, general admissions tickets to the fan zone are absolutely free, but you can bag yourself a table reservation for £10 per person. Better still, for super fans, you can even grab an exclusive Season Pass for a limited time only, granting you access to all five games in the competition.
This includes a special edition team jersey, access to the best seats in the house and the first 150 customers will also get a Guinness Six Nations tote bag filled with beanies, cushions and foam fingers, even temporary tattoos and face paints for you to get your full colours on.
Last but not least, those who do grab a Season Pass will also be in with a chance to win one of Guinness’ exclusive ‘Money Can’t Buy Experiences‘, this year’s main prize being four tickets to a Six Nations match, a dressing room tour and being trusted with flag bearer duty before kick-off. Mint.
Russian supporters waving Putin flags and wearing ‘Z’ war symbols questioned by police at Australian Open
Danny Jones
A number of Russian supporters attending the Australian Open were spotted waving pro-Putin flags and wearing ‘Z’ war symbols during Novak Djokovic’s match on Wednesday evening.
Spotted in the crowd whilst watching Djokovic’s quarter-final tie against Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, the group of fans cheering on Rublev are now said to have been questioned by local police following the stunt as a further investigation is expected to be carried out.
The nine-time tournament winner might have seen off the world number six seed in straight sets to progress to the penultimate round of the major, but the controversy that the pro-war display has caused is understandably all anyone can focus on.
You can see a significant number of Russian fans chanting “Putin!” with their flags in the stands below, as well as another man clearly flaunting the ‘Z’ symbol — synonymous with the invasion of Ukraine.
Police have detained four spectators for questioning at the Australian Open after they held up Russian flags with Vladimir Putin’s face.
Another man was seen inside the stadium during the match wearing a t-shirt with a pro-war ‘Z’ symbol. pic.twitter.com/lt8VLuZupF
According to a statement issued by Tennis Australia, four men were questioned by local authorities in Melbourne after they revealed their pro-Putin emblems and reportedly threatened security guards inside the Rod Laver Arena then they were asked to remove them.
Victoria Police have now confirmed that while charges were made, the group of supporters were quickly ejected, with Australian Open organisers reassuring that they will “continue to work closely with event security and law enforcement agencies.”
To make matters worse, Djokovic’s father, Srđan, was later seen posing with what appears to be the same group of fans and images of Vladimir Putin outside the stadium.
The Serbian has not long put his own controversy behind him after being deported from the country due to covid regulations and his anti-vax stance last year. This surely won’t help.
The father of tennis star Novak Djokovic is under fire for posing with pro-Russian fans at the Australian Open. It's sparked a new political storm, as spectators clashed with security guards. https://t.co/b3nAU1JF34#7NEWSpic.twitter.com/ieZoVIJ2il
The Russian invasion has been an ongoing issue at the Open, with Russian and Belarusian players now having to compete under a neutral flag.
This comes after spectators had initially been allowed to bring any flag into the arena with them. However, following the incident, certain Russian flags are now prohibited and security guards have been provided with pamphlets in order for them to check for approved national emblems.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was both surprised and relieved to find out that Germany has confirmed they will be sending Leopard 2 tanks to bolster his country’s defences, which he only learned whilst in the middle of an interview with Sky News’ Kay Burley.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Sky News he is "very happy" and "thankful" that Germany has decided to supply 14 Leopard 2 tanks – but warned the quantity and delivery time of the vehicles is "critical".
Danny Jones -
21st December 2022 
