Oleksandr Usyk is ‘on the way’ to finalising the undisputed heavyweight title fight with Tyson Fury, his team tells Sky Sports.
Fury and Usyk are the leading two heavyweights in the world and are set on a contest to decide the world number No 1, likely to take place in the first quarter of 2023.
Fury is the reigning WBC champion and has fought twice in the UK this year in stadium fights, beating Dillian Whyte then Derek Chisora.
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Usyk first defeated Anthony Joshua in 2021 to claim the unified WBO, WBA and IBF titles. He returned to Ukraine earlier this year when Russia invaded his country but in August returned to boxing and defended his belt when he beat Joshua in their rematch in Saudi Arabia.
The Ukrainian has subsequently pursued the showdown with Fury, attending his fight with Chisora in London to confront the Briton after his victory.
Negotiations have progressed. Bob Arum, who co-promotes Fury with Frank Warren, revealed that the two heavyweights have agreed to fight one another next, early in 2023, with neither taking a bout in the interim.
The next step is to issue contracts.
Alex Krassyuk, Usyk's promoter, believes those have been drawn up.
"Probably yes [the contracts have been issued], but we have not received them yet," he told Sky Sports.
Krassyuk though is hopeful the heavyweight super-fight will be finalised soon.
"Yes," he said, "we are on our way."
'A tremendous happening for the world'
The WBC won't obstruct the undisputed heavyweight title fight from taking place. In fact the sanctioning body is pushing for Fury-Usyk to happen next.
Mauricio Sulaiman, the WBC president, told Sky Sports: "That's a fight that the WBC has promoted and has fought for since several years when [Deontay] Wilder was champion and [Anthony] Joshua was a champion.
"We put all the flexibility and possibility of the WBC to participate in doing so. Now if Usyk comes into place and Fury fights him that would be a tremendous happening for the world."