Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk ultimatum: WBA sets deadline for contract signing

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have been given a deadline of April 1st by the World Boxing Association to sign the contract for their undisputed fight.

With negotiations stalling and controversy surrounding the fight, the agreement has still not been officially signed for April 29. The WBA will order Oleksandr Usyk to face WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois should the fight not be agreed on April 1st.

WBA President Gilberto J. Melendez confirmed the deadline on Twitter on Sunday, when he tweeted:

“Usyk v. Fury update: @WBABoxing deadline to receive signed bout contracts is April 1st. Otherwise, the Dubois mandatory negotiations will be ordered.”

In most cases, major sanctioning bodies in boxing would order mandatory title defenses regardless of what fights are being negotiated, and order champions like Usyk to defend their belts against mandatory challengers at regular intervals.

However, exceptions are made for undisputed fights as the unification is in the best interests of most parties involved. The winner of Tyson Fury (WBC heavyweight champion) vs. Oleksandr Usyk (WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF and Lineal Heavyweight Champion) will be the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt-era since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

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Oleksandr Usyk tells Tyson Fury ‘the clock is ticking’ amidst WBA deadline announcement

Oleksandr Usyk and his team have made it known repeatedly that Tyson Fury not agreeing terms is the reason why the undisputed clash has not been agreed to yet. Usyk took to Twitter where he said everything has been sent over to Fury now and ‘the ball is in his court’.

"The points for agreement were sent to Fury’s side. The deadline is set. The clock is ticking. The ball is on Greedybelly’s side now. We did everything in our power to make it happen”.

Rumors that Tyson Fury is not physically fit to fight on a date as early as April 29 have been running rampant amongst the media as well as on social media.

The British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn spoke about the rumors that the April 29th date might be too early for ‘The Gypsy King’ to get in shape for a fight of this magnitude, he said:

“I don’t think you need the time to promote it. It’s a big enough fight, but time to get ready, Tyson Fury physically doesn’t look ready for six weeks”.

Check out the full interview below: