The rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will take place on Dec. 21, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, announced on Wednesday.
On May 18, Usyk (22–0) defeated Fury (34-1-1) by split decision to become the undisputed heavyweight champion, the first undisputed heavyweight titleholder this century and the first ever in the four-belt era. In an electric, back-and-forth fight, Usyk overcame a slow start to knock Fury down in the ninth round to secure a narrow decision win.
“I believe I won the fight, but I’m not going to sit here and cry and make excuses,” Fury said. “I believe he won a few of the rounds, but I won the majority of them. What can you do? We both put on a good fight, the best we could do.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Alalshikh posted: “The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season…The world will watch another historical fight again… Our commitment to boxing fans continues…We hope you enjoy it.”
While the first fight between Fury and Usyk was for the undisputed championship it’s possible at least one belt will not be on the line in the rematch. The IBF had ordered that the winner of Fury-Usyk face Filip Hrgović, who has been the sanctioning body’s No. 1 contender since 2022. While Usyk’s team has requested an exception to face Fury again, Hrgović, who will take on Daniel Dubois in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, intends to aggressively demand that the IBF enforce his status as mandatory challenger, a source close to Hrgović tells Sports Illustrated.
“There’s already been an exception, so very unlikely that there’s another,” says Eddie Hearn, the promoter for Anthony Joshua, who is expected to fight the winner of Hrgović-Dubois.
“You don’t really want the belts to be fragmented but then you’ve got a guy [Hrgović] that’s been ordered ages ago and has been waiting and waiting and waiting. You can’t just ignore your mandatory challenger for two or three years.
“And I get the whole point of, ‘Yeah, but it’s great to have an undisputed champion,’ but what if the shoe is on the other foot? What if you are this guy who’s been mandatory and now he goes out and beats Dubois and now he’s told no, actually you can’t get your world title shot till the summer of 2025? It’s not fair. So I get both sides of the argument, but I do expect that IBF belt to come vacant.”
Regardless of how many belts are at stake, Fury and Usyk are now set to tangle again.
CHRIS MANNIX
Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated senior writer Chris Mannix has boxed with Juan Manuel Marquez, played guard in the NBA’s D-League and even tried his hand at bull riding at the Sankey Rodeo School in Martin, Tenn. The latter assignment left him with a bunch of bruises and a fractured collarbone. “I liked all the first-person experiences, but fighting Juan was my favorite assignment for SI,” says Mannix. “It was a tremendous experience that required brutal training and introduced me to a fear I never knew I had.”
Mannix has covered the NBA since he arrived at SI in 2003. He currently writes columns and profiles in the magazine and for SI.com and also serves as SI’s NBA draft expert. Among the NBA stars he has profiled: Chris Bosh, Russell Westbrook and Andrei Kirilenko. As a teenager Mannix was a locker room attendant with the Boston Celtics for eight seasons (1995-2003) and covered high school sports for the Boston Globe. “Working for the Celtics was like attending a different fantasy camp every game. I spent pregames D’ing up the likes of Tracy McGrady, Ray Allen and yes, Michael Jordan. Last time I went one-on-one with MJ he beat me 48-0. I got one shot off … and it was blocked.”
Boxing is also one of Mannix’s specialties. He has reported for SI on several championship fights, annually hands out SI.com’s boxing awards and writes the website’s “Inside Boxing” column. Mannix won the 2012 Boxing Writers Association of America’s awards for Best Feature over 1,750 words and Best Feature under 1,750 words.
In addition to his duties at SI, Mannix serves as host of The Chris Mannix Show on NBC Sports Radio (Sundays 6–9 p.m. ET) and is a co-host of Voices of the Game, with Newy Scruggs every Wednesday from Noon–3 p.m. ET. In addition, Mannix is a ringside reporter for Epix and Fight Night on NBC and NBC Sports Network, and is a regular guest and fill-in host on The Dan Patrick Show and The Crossover on NBC Sports Network. He also regularly appears on sports radio shows across the country, including weekly appearances in Miami, Orlando and Salt Lake City.
Mannix received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Boston College in 2003 and graduated from Boston College High School in 1998 (which makes him a double Eagle). He resides in New York City.
