‘The Gypsy King’ has taken a swipe at the IBF after he was removed from their heavyweight rankings following his defeat to Usyk in Riyadh back in May
Two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has brutally hit out at the IBF ahead his mouthwatering rematch with Oleksandr Usyk later this year.
Back in May, the Ukrainian became the first man to beat Fury in a professional contest after he secured a split-decision victory in Riyadh. The heavyweight rivals will do battle once again as they are scheduled to head-to-head for a second time on December 21.
Back in June, British star Daniel Dubois was upgraded to the IBF heavyweight world champion after Usyk vacated his world title. ‘Dynamite’ won the interim belt back in June after stopping Filip Hrgovic via TKO in the eighth round. The 27-year-old later successfully defended the belt for the first time back in September, defeating Anthony Joshua in the fifth round.
Therefore, in the rematch between Fury and Usyk, the IBF prize will not be on the line. In July, ‘The Gypsy King’ was removed from the IBF heavyweight rankings. Currently, the top 10 consists of Agit Kabayel, Martin Bakole, Zhilei Zhang, Frank Sanchez, Efe Ajagba, Anthony Joshua, Filip Hrgovic, Derek Chisora – while the top two spots are yet to be rated. Otto Wallin, Fabio Wardley, Jared Anderson, Guido Vianello and Justis Huni complete the top 15.
While the IBF have no reason to rank Fury after Usyk vacated their title, ‘The Gypsy King’ recently hit out at the organisation. In an interview with BoxNation, he said: “The IBF are not involved this time, so I can’t get a s*** result from them. They got paid off me, a lot of money for sanctioning the fight. Me and Usyk did a fantastic fight regardless of the result and it was an unbelievable fight from two fighters. The IBF have not even rated me in their top 15 in the rankings when everybody else has. So, what does that say?”
The 36-year-old the claimed he was not ‘bothered’ that the IBF title is not on the line against Usyk. “I wouldn’t be bothered and I’m happy they’re not”, he continued. “Going against me is one thing, it’s somebody’s opinion. But then why not rate me in your top 15 of then of the next rankings?
“They’ve got people in there who aren’t good enough to lace these old, dirty, trainers up, never mind not have ‘The Gypsy King’ in there. And I’ve just paid them a ton of money for sanction fees. So if they say to me ‘we don’t hate you at the IBF man, we like you.’ They’re not showing they like me are they?”
If Fury beats Usyk in the rematch later this year, there is a chance he can claim the IBF title. While Dubois is the current holder of the belt, it is expected that ‘Triple D’ will go head-to-head with Joshua in a rematch next year. Should that fight take place, ‘The Gypsy King’ will likely want to face the winner of that heavyweight dust-up in 2025.
