Oleksandr Usyk's promoter fears Tyson Fury fight won't happen and responds to legal action threat
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are due to step into the ring on February 17
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Oleksandr Usyk's promoter, Alex Krassyuk, has admitted he's unsure if the Ukrainian's fight with Tyson Fury will go ahead.
And he's also made it clear they were never bothered by Fury's threats over potential legal action, too.
Fury previously threatened to sue Usyk if their battle didn't go ahead on December 23.
But the pair have now agreed to step into the ring on February 17 instead.
Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are set to slog it out on February 17
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Fury needed more time to recover from his recent narrow win over Francis Ngannou.
Yet while his fight with Usyk has been agreed, and is now being promoted, Krassyuk is still fearing a last-minute collapse.
"First thing, I was delighted to see Tyson Fury here so he turned up and the fight is happening," he told the Daily Mail.
"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.
"At that the time I will start believing it is happening but before that... I've been in boxing for too long."
Krassyuk then proceeded to say both himself and Usyk never took Fury's threats of legal action seriously.
"I have expectations and hopes but in reality I have to stay very critical," he said.
"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."
When asked why February 17 had been chosen, Krassyuk revealed the war in Ukraine had been a factor in his thinking.
"We had two dates - February 17 and February 24," he explained.
"Regarding the 24th, the invasion to Ukraine started two years ago.
"So that's why this date was crucially negative and we could not accept it.
"The 17th is a good date and 17 is a good number.
"The number always appears on Usyk's outfit and it's the day of his birth and that of Muhammad Ali, so it's a good date.
"The belts are going to travel back to Ukraine, home."
Fury's own promoter, Frank Warren, has also discussed the upcoming heavyweight showdown.
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The Gypsy King was aggressive and agitated during the pre-fight press conference in London on Thursday.
And Warren puts that down to Fury's battle with Usyk regularly being pushed back and delayed.
"Look the last time we signed for it last year, it was them who pulled out," he said.
Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk has responded to legal action threats from Tyson Fury
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"Tyson's very frustrated. I think that frustration boiled over at the press conference in as much as, this has been a real irritant, everyone saying 'why isn't this going on'.
"We knew what the real truth was behind the scenes, fact is - it's on.
"Tyson will be there on the 17th, and I'm quite sure Oleksandr will be there too, and I think we're going to get something a little bit special."