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A shockwave of disappointment flooded the boxing world over the weekend as news emerged that Tyson Fury suffered a freak ghastly cut to his eye during a sparring session; thus sending the highly anticipated “Ring of Fire” event into jeopardy.
This occasion was to have seen Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on the intended date of February 17th.
Fear not. After a quick assessment of the situation, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, in accordance with the GEA, have not only salvaged a dire situation – but may have indeed improved matters.
Within 24 hours of the news breaking, H.E. Turki Alalshikh took to Ariel Helwani’s MMA Hour to provide a new date of May 18th for the spectacle, stating “18th of May – we will have Tyson/ Usyk. We have a contract; we will deliver this fight on the 18th (May)”.
Here, we continue to see the tremendous vision of Saudi Arabia. Yes, the postponement of Fury/ Usyk is crushing to the relevant parties and fans around the world. However, in true fighting spirit, The Kingdom provided silver linings with several exciting announcements:
– “Ring of Fire” on May 18th has been enhanced with an as of yet, undisclosed “big fight” added to the undercard.
– H.E. announced that Artur Beterbiev and Dimitry Bivol will finally challenge each other for the undisputed Light Heavyweight championship on June 1st.
– H.E. further stated that he has given top ranked Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic the option to fight his choice of 6 potential opponents on the Knockout Chaos undercard of March 08th. This will beef up that card and satisfy the appetite of boxing fans who are missing out on the planned February “Ring of Fire” card.
Ring of Fire has been delayed, but not derailed. We have waited 24 years to see a new undisputed Heavyweight boxing champion – another 3 months will only serve to make the build-up even more exciting. The “Ring of Fire” looks set to burn even brighter in the summer sun.
Here, The Kingdom has demonstrated how to act like a champion in times of pressure. With a slew of much anticipated fights on the Saudi horizon, the GEA continue to elevate the broader landscape of world-class boxing.
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