LONDON
\nTyson Fury said 2023 would be \u201cthe \u201cbiggest year of my career\u201d as the Briton looks to unify boxing\u2019s fractured heavyweight division.
\nFury, unbeaten as a professional, retained his WBC version of the title with a 10th-round stoppage of Derek Chisora on Saturday, the third time he has defeated his compatriot.
\nThe 34-year-old Fury was in complete command from the opening bell, with large parts of the fight resembling a sparring session such was the dominance of the self-styled \u201cGypsy King\u201d.
\nOleksandr Usyk, the holder of the IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight titles, was among a crowd of nearly 60,000 on a bitterly cold night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.
\n\u201cI\u2019m ready and willing to take on Usyk whether it is in Saudi Arabia or back here in the United Kingdom,\u201d Fury told a post-fight press conference.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s give the fans one champion, one name, one face. He\u2019s not an easy boxer to figure out, he\u2019s slick, a southpaw, moves well, coming in on good form and I look forward to the challenge.
\n\u201cBut for whatever reason if we\u2019re not able to do that, then we will have Joe Joyce at Wembley. I\u2019ll do Usyk and then Joyce at Wembley as well.\u201d
\nThere were chaotic scenes following Saturday\u2019s contest, with Fury joined in the ring by Ukraine\u2019s Usyk and Britain\u2019s Joyce.
\nAll three boxers are unbeaten as professionals, with Usyk, 35, twice defeating Anthony Joshua, firstly depriving the British heavyweight of his world titles at the home of Premier League football club Tottenham in September last year before defeating him again in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this July.
\nFury after defeating Dillian Whyte at Wembley in April and reversing a decision to retire, called out Joshua, the London 2012 Olympic super-heavyweight champion.
\nBut talks between the two camps fell through, with Chisora stepping in, and Fury is now resigned to never meeting Joshua in the ring.
\n\u201cI want to fight real men, real challenges,\u201d said Fury. \u201cUsyk came over here and got in my face. We (Fury and Joshua) live in the same country but have you ever seen AJ do that after a fight?
\n\u201cIn the heavyweight rankings you have number one, me and then the next three \u2013 Usyk, Joyce and Deontay Wilder.
\n\u201cIf I fight Usyk, maybe Joyce could fight Wilder \u2013 that would be fantastic,\u201d explained Fury, who in three bouts with the American won two and drew one.
\nPromoter Frank Warren added: \u201cBoth Usyk and Joyce are huge fights but the one I want to see for my satisfaction is Usyk.
\n\u201cI want Tyson to get what he should be \u2013 recognised as the best heavyweight in the world.\u201d
\nBut veteran US promoter Bob Arum, now working with Warren after being involved in some of heavyweight great Muhammad Ali\u2019s most celebrated bouts in the 1970s, had some words of warning for Fury as he referenced Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine.
\n\u201cUsyk is a Ukrainian and Ukrainians fight like no one else in the world, they are knocking the crap out of Russia,\u201d said Arum.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON Tyson Fury said 2023 would be \u201cthe \u201cbiggest year of my career\u201d as the Briton looks to unify boxing\u2019s fractured heavyweight division. Fury, unbeaten as a professional, retained his WBC version of the title with a 10th-round stoppage of Derek Chisora on Saturday, the third time he has defeated his compatriot. The 34-year-old Fury […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n