After a chaotic build up, Tyson Fury will fight Oleksandr Usyk for the WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF world titles on Saturday night.
It will be a historic night for boxing, a quarter of a century on from the last undisputed heavyweight championship bout, when Lennox Lewis faced off with Evander Holyfield.
For both Fury and Usyk, the match might be their opportunity to go down as one of the sport’s unquestionable all-time greats.
The Gypsy King has, arguably, not ever reached his full potential in a successful but fraught career marred with controversy; Usyk would become one of a very few boxers who would become a two-weight undisputed champion, having unified all major belts in the cruiserweight division. In the four-belt era, the achievement has been almost impossible, although the likes of Terence Crawford have done it (albeit, not at heavyweight).
Usyk, who presently holds three of the four belts — WBO, WBA and IBF — said the fight will mark a “very important day”. He told Sky Sports News: “It's different at cruiserweight. This is heavyweight. It's the king of categories.
“A lot of people who train boxing, who have an opportunity to step up to heavyweight, all people dream of [boxing at] heavyweight. It's the big category. It's absolutely the king.”
Fury, meanwhile, who has held the WBC belt since 2020, said his match with Usyk might be bigger than Lewis versus Holyfield: “There's a lot more to fight for now. It's the first time in history that there's been more belts than Lewis and Holyfield fought for back in the day. I'm really excited and looking forward to the task.”
Whether or not the bout eclipses the one 25 years ago, Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk promises to be one of the biggest sporting events in a generation.
The match will take place on May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event is scheduled to begin at around 11pm GMT but the boxers might not step into the ring until sometime later. It will be shown live in the UK via DAZN’s pay-per-view service, on Sky box office, and on TNT sports box office, priced at £24.95.
For those who want to watch the fight in a bar in London, here’s where to go across London, with many options in and around Shoreditch. Booking is advised, if not necessary at all.
The Regent, Balham
The Regent is an independent, lively local pub, a place for quizzes, live music and sports. Book a table, pitch up and prepare for a big one in one of South London’s silliest neighbourhoods.
21 Chestnut Grove, Balham, SW12 8JB, theregentbalham.co.uk
Greenwood, Victoria
Opposite Victoria station, Greenwood serves beers, cocktails, and bar food in a sweeping space full of TV screens and high tables. It is one of a host of cleverly positioned Etm Group sports bars in London, with two other options below.
170 Victoria Street, SW1E 5LB, greenwoodlondon.com
The Star in Shoreditch
The clash between two boxing giants will be shown at the Star in Shoreditch, which has dubbed the event “undoubtedly one of the most highly anticipated and significant bouts of the year.”
243 Old Street, EC1V 9EY, starinshoreditch.co.uk
Temple Brewhouse
This basement, industrial brewpub in Temple is less a modern sports bar, more a place of mismatched furniture, craft beers and seasonal food. Boxing, too, though, obviously.
46 Essex Street, Temple, WC2R 3JF, templebrewhouse.com
The Thirsty Bear, Southwark
There is much fun to be had at the Thirsty Bear, including shuffleboard, darts, table football, and beer pong. The pub serves good beers and fine burgers and events are frequent. On May 18, the boxing.
62 Stamford St, London SE1 9LX, thethirstybear.com
Redwood, London Bridge
Located just outside London Bridge, Redwood is a multi-floored space with screens throughout. It would be advisable to bed in early as the bar, like all in the group, gets very busy.
London Bridge Station, SE1 9SP, redwoodsportspub.com
Northwood, Angel
This one in Islington, Northwood features huge, UHD screens and booming sound system, and is ever-popular for big sporting events.
Angel Central, 30 Parkfield Street, N1 0PZ, northwoodlondon.com
Broadleaf, Broadgate
The sweeping glass pub Broadleaf shows sports abound and has numerous screens on which to watch Fury take on Usyk. Tables can be booked all evening.
Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, EC2N 1HN, broadleaflondon.com
Bar Kick, Shoreditch
Craft beer and burger locale Bar Kick has tables and booths available, and will be showing the bout with build up from 10pm.
127 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JE, urbanpubsandbars.com
McGettigan’s, Fulham
This Irish themed bar chain shows just about every sport going. Just turn up and find a seat (or spot to stand).
1 Fulham Broadway, SW6 1AA, mcgettigans.com
Sports Bar & Grill, Clapham Junction
Clapham is the best bet south of the river. Near the train station is the Sports Bar & Grill, which is offering bookable seats from 10pm.
4 St John’s Hill, Clapham, SW11 1RU, sportsbarandgrill.co.uk
Beechwood Sports Bar & Kitchen, Liverpool Street
Beechwood, another of the Etm Group locations, is showing the match alongside plenty of beers and bar food.
Worship Street, EC2A 2FA, beechwoodsportspub.com
The Cornershop, Shoreditch
Nightlife and sporting venue the Cornershop serves food until late and is a party spot come evening, with a licence until 2am. In the basement are enormous screens.
123 Shoreditch High Street, E1 6JE, thecornershopbar.co.uk
Nordic Bar, Fitzrovia
This Scandi-style party bar is open until 2am at the weekend and always busy when big events come around, and few come close to Fury versus Usyk.
25 Newman Street, W1T 1PN, nordicbar.com
Earl of Camden, Camden
This Camden pub has screens everywhere and will be showing the fight live. Food is served until 9am but drinks flow much later.
