The rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has been set for this winter, according to the latest update from Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority.
Fury and Usyk finally held their highly-anticipated bout earlier this month after what felt like an eternity of ‘will they won’t they?’, a fight which ended in the Ukrainian delivering the Manc boxer’s first-ever professional defeat and becoming the first undisputed heavyweight in 24 years.
However, with the new unified champion having won the match via a split decision, Fury was quick to insist that he believed he should have been named as the victor, even going so far as to suggest that the judges let their sympathies for the war in Ukraine affect the final decision.
In truth, there was also a rematch clause built into the contract, so the announcement of Fury vs Usyk II itself comes as no surprise, but now we look to have an official date for the fight already.
BREAKING: Rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury confirmed for December 21st in Saudi Arabia 🚨 pic.twitter.com/RajBxtPYwa
As per Saudi official Turki Alalshikh, who shared the news on his own social media, the second bout will take place during the festive period, with the next instalment of what will likely go on to be a trilogy of fights scheduled for 21 December 2024.
ADVERTISEMENT
Alalshikh went on to add: “The world will watch another historical fight again. Our commitment to boxing fans continues. We hope you enjoy it.”
With Usyk remaining unbeaten in all of his 22 professional fights at the age of 37, many argued he was well within his right to retire as an undefeated champ like many other boxers coming towards the end of their career, however, it seems that another edition of Riyadh Season will be arriving later this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
As the official state-run entertainment festival and programme for Saudia Arabia and boxers receiving big paydays to host fights in the Middle East, you can expect many other blockbuster fights to take place in the Gulf state for the foreseeable future too.
While neither camp has yet come out to confirm the fight has been agreed upon or shared any form of update/announcement, but with the host nation itself seemingly giving the green light publicly, it looks to be a done deal.
That being said, we all know how many times these two called off previous scheduled dates for the long-awaited boxing match so don’t be too surprised if the date gets pushed back somehow – though a big fight just before Christmas does sound like a nice early gift.
ADVERTISEMENT
Do you think Fury can bounce back to win all four belts, or will Usyk once again prove himself to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time?
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
29th May 2024 
