- Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will face off in Saudi Arabia on May 18
- The undercard for the undisputed heavyweight title fight has been announced
- Frank Sanchez, Agit Kabayel, Joe Cordina and Moses Itauma will perform
The undercard for Tyson Fury’s undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 has been officially confirmed.
Fury and Usyk will finally meet in the ring as part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh season to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
The winner of the highly anticipated fight will also unify the division for the first time since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in March 1999.
However, Fury and Usyk won’t be the only heavyweights on the card – which is no surprise considering His Excellency Turki Alalshikh likes the big hitters.
Heavyweight contenders Frank Sanchez and Agit Kabayel have been added to the undercard of the May 18 fight at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.
The undercard for Tyson Fury’s undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk has been confirmed
Heavyweight contenders Frank Sanchez (above) and Agit Kabayel have been added to the undercard of the May 18 fight at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia
Jai Opetaia (right) – who scored a stunning KO win over Ellis Zorro on Judgment Day in Saudi Arabia last December – will face Mairis Briedis on May 18
Kabayel (24-0, 16 KOs) will enter the fight with confidence after scoring a surprise fourth-round knockout victory over previously undefeated heavyweight contender Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Day of Reckoning last December.
Boxing fans thought Makhmudov would make Kabayel easy. However, the German-born heavyweight dropped Makhmudov three times after targeting his body.
Meanwhile, Sanchez (24-0, 17 KOs) heads the rear after a seventh-round knockout win over Junior Fa last December. It was a good performance from Sanchez, but Fa had previously lost two of his previous three fights.
Jai Opetaia – who scored a stunning KO win over Ellis Zorro at Judgment Day in Saudi Arabia last December – will face Mairis Briedis on May 18.
Opetaia has already proven himself against Briedis, beating the three-time cruiserweight champion over twelve rounds in July 2022, but will need to do it again if he wants to become world champion for a second time.
The 28-year-old Australian was stripped of his crown when he fought Zorro in December and claims he is keen to get his hands on the belt again.
Meanwhile, Joe Cordina will defend his IBF super-featherweight title in a home bout against Irishman Anthony Cacace.
The 32-year-old Welshman previously defended his title against Edward Vazquez at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medecin after defeating Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov to regain his belt.
Meanwhile, Joe Cordina (right) will defend his IBF super-featherweight title in a home bout against Irishman Anthony Cacace
Moses Itauma will also appear on the undercard after sparring with the Gypsy King
Eddie Hearn says Cordina – who trains with Conor Benn under the watchful eye of Tony Sims – is the ‘best 130lb fighter in the world’ and is backing him to get the job done.
Mark Chamberlain returns to Saudi Arabia to face Joshua Oluwaseun after appearing on the undercard of the heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.
Chamberlain – who defeated Gavin Gwynne Gavin Gwynne on the Knockout Chaos card – is one of Alalshikh’s favorite boxers and was hand-picked by His Excellency after seeing him in action at York Hall.
Moses Itauma will also feature on the undercard of Fury vs Usyk after sparring with the Gypsy King. The 19-year-old star – who has vowed to break Mike Tyson’s record to become the youngest world champion in history – will face Ilya Mazencev.
New Zealand Olympian David Nyika will face Michael Seitz at cruiserweight and English featherweight Isaac Lowe will be paired with Hasibullah Ahmadi.
While Sergey Kovalev – the former world light heavyweight champion – will take on undefeated Robin Sirwan Safar in the cruiserweight division.
