Tyson Fury reacts after new date for crunch Oleksandr Usyk boxing match confirmed
Boxing news: Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet in February next year
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Tyson Fury issued a calm reaction after February 17 was confirmed as the new date for his upcoming bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
The duo had been pencilled in to fight in Saudi Arabia on December 23 just weeks ago.
However, with Fury recently overcoming Francis Ngannou via split decision, the 35-year-old has needed more time to recover.
The two men will instead fight in Saudi on February 17 in the first heavyweight clash since the days of Lennox Lewis.
Boxing news: Tyson Fury has spoken out after a new date for his fight with Oleksandr Usyk was confirmed
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Fury has now been asked about his mood prior to the fight.
And he's told the Daily Mail that he's just as excited as when he first learned about the battle happening.
When quizzed, he said: "About as excited as I was last week, last month and three months ago or six months ago when I knew the fight was happening," he said.
"Yeah. Pretty good."
Frank Warren, Fury's promoter, has also discussed the upcoming fight.
And he's backing the 35-year-old to win, insisting he's overcome every test and hurdle in his career to date.
"People don't understand," he stated.
"He won on his rematch last August, so it's less than a year/18 months the fight goes on, and had Tyson been able to fight on the 23rd, it'd been unified.
"The quickest a unification fight has ever happened.
"Tyson fought Klitschko, he's fought Wilder, he's fought everyone."
Boxing star Fabio Wardley has been speaking on Warren's YouTube channel - and is excited about Fury vs Usyk due to their heated rivalry.
"They're both very much characters in their own right and they've both got a bit to say about the other ones," he said.
"This time around, there's been a bit more comments back and fourth, and they've both got a few holes to pick at each other (given their recent fights)."
He added: They're not going to want to rush in, they're going to want to have a look.
"Both of their last performances left some question marks, they're going to wait and see - what Fury, what Usyk is in front of me?"
Speaking prior to a press conference, meanwhile, Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk said he wouldn't actually believe the fight was happening until the very first round.
He said: "First thing, I was was to delighted to see Tyson Fury here so he turned up and the fight is happening.
"That's amazing. At least we are one step closer to the fight.
"(But) No (I'm not confident it will definitely now take place) at all.
"My confidence will grow higher when I hear the bell for the first round.
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Boxing news: Tyson Fury was calm when quizzed about his upcoming bout with Oleksandr Usyk
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"At that the time I will start believing it is happening but before that, I've been in boxing for too long."
He added: "I have expectations and hopes but in reality I have to stay very critical.
"We call Tyson a random-thought generator so him (threatening to) sue us was one of these random thoughts.
"We have been chasing this fight for more than two years. Usyk's objective is to become undisputed and we need Tyson because he is the WBC champion.
"We have witnessed so many fights being cancelled at late notice so I really hope it happens and let's stay positive and pray."