Tyson Fury Targets Oleksandr Usyk After Joshua Setback
Tyson Fury has lit the fuse again.
With an all-British blockbuster against Anthony Joshua supposedly next on the agenda, the WBC heavyweight champion has publicly declared he is “looking for a new opponent” for November – and has turned his attention to Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury v Joshua: Signed, but still stuck
Both Fury and Joshua have already signed individual contracts for a long-awaited showdown, a fight British boxing has chased for years. The plan is November. The problem is where.
Organisers are pushing hard to take the event to the United States. Joshua, though, wants Wembley Stadium, the scene of some of his biggest nights and a venue capable of delivering a huge home advantage and a record-breaking gate.
That tug of war over the location has stalled any official announcement. Into that vacuum, Fury has stepped with characteristic volume.
Instagram blast and a new target
In an expletive-laden Instagram video, Fury claimed Joshua was backing out of the fight and used that claim as a springboard to call out Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight king and current heavyweight standard-bearer.
“This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury said, making it clear where he intends to turn if the Joshua negotiations collapse.
He went further, dragging Joshua and praising Usyk in the same breath. Addressing the Ukrainian directly, Fury branded Usyk Joshua’s “trainer” and “sensei,” accusing Joshua of being “weak minded” and insisting he would “never fight the Gypsy King” – something, Fury noted, Usyk has already done twice.
Usyk, of course, owns the recent history. He has beaten Fury twice on the cards, results Fury acknowledged: “You got the decisions last time, fair play to you.”
“Let’s run it back in November”
The tone then shifted from taunt to challenge. Fury wished Usyk “good luck” and invited him to meet again before the year is out.
“Let’s do it again. Let’s run it back in November,” he said, framing the decision as Usyk’s to make. “The ball is now in your court… do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling quits? Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”
So the heavyweight picture sits on a knife-edge. Contracts are signed for Fury v Joshua, but the venue row drags on. Fury, impatient and unapologetically loud, has thrown Usyk’s name back into the centre of the division.
The next move belongs to the promoters, the broadcasters – and, if Fury gets his wish, to Oleksandr Usyk himself.
