Tyson Fury has gone back to a familiar name in search of a new opponent. Oleksandr Usyk’s camp has made it brutally clear he should look elsewhere.
With negotiations for a long-awaited all-British showdown against Anthony Joshua stalling over the venue, Fury took to social media on Monday to declare he was “now looking for a new opponent” and publicly called for a third fight with the Ukrainian who beat him twice in 2024.
The answer from Team Usyk was ice cold.
“Usyk is not Tyson's backup plan”
Speaking to Sky Sports News, Usyk’s manager Sergey Lapin shut down the idea that the undisputed champion-in-waiting would be waiting by the phone.
“Usyk is not Tyson's backup plan,” Lapin said, in a pointed response to Fury’s video message. “If Fury needs an opponent, he should visit the Ready to Fight platform. They can help him find a worthy opponent there.
“Oleksandr is always open to big challenges. But serious intentions are backed by a concrete offer, not statements in the press.”
That line cut to the heart of the matter. Fury is talking. Usyk’s team want contracts.
Usyk, 39, vacated the three heavyweight belts he still held back in June, but made it clear he was not stepping away from the sport. The Ukrainian, now 25-0 as a professional, has since been linked with a fight against former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, a matchup that would keep him at the top end of the division while the British saga drags on.
Fury turns the spotlight back on Usyk
Fury’s renewed pursuit of Usyk comes as his dream fight with Joshua continues to stall. Both heavyweights have already signed individual contracts for a bout pencilled in for November, but the deal has hit a familiar snag: location.
Speculation has centred on New York City as a potential host, yet Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has been vocal about wanting the fight in London. Fury, never shy of stoking the narrative, has accused Joshua of trying to avoid a contest that has been “more than a decade in the making.”
With the stalemate lingering, Fury pivoted. In a video posted on Instagram, he called directly on Usyk, the man who took his unbeaten record and his status, beating him twice on points in 2024 to become undisputed heavyweight champion.
“This will only lead me to a fight with Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury said.
Addressing the Ukrainian, he added: “Oleksandr you're his [Joshua's] trainer and his sensei and you know he is weak minded... and that he would never fight the Gypsy King which you have had the guts to do twice.
“You got the decisions last time, fair play to you. Good luck to you, let's do it again. Let's run it back in November. The ball is now in your court... do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling it quits?
“Let me know because I am now looking for a new opponent.”
The reference to Usyk as Joshua’s “trainer and sensei” underlined another twist in this modern heavyweight rivalry. After beating Joshua in back-to-back fights in 2021 and 2022, Usyk has since become part of the Briton’s training setup over the last year, adding a strange mentor-pupil dynamic to a triangle that already carries years of tension.
Heavyweight chess, not chaos
Strip away the noise and the picture is stark. Fury is publicly chasing options. Usyk holds the leverage of victory and an unbeaten record. Joshua stands in the middle, contract signed but still without a confirmed venue, pulled between legacy in London and the lure of a global stage.
Lapin’s message made it clear Usyk will not be used as a bargaining chip while Fury and Joshua haggle over geography. If Fury truly wants a trilogy, Team Usyk want more than Instagram call-outs.
The belts may be scattered again, but the power at heavyweight still sits with a handful of men. One has the microphone. One has the perfect record. One has the city he wants circled on a map.
Somewhere between London, New York and a November deadline, someone will have to blink.
