HE Turki Alalshikh Hits Back At Haters Of Tyson Fury Vs Oleksandr Usyk Event, Tells Them To Look Elsewhere For “Clown” Fights

On May 18th, at the lavish Kingdom Arena of Riyadh, a historic clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will take place to give the world its first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era. With little over a month left for the fight, the undercard details have emerged, raking up some disappointment. However, HE Turki Alalshikh, in a scathing message has told the world that he stands strong behind the event he’s put together.

WBC champion Tyson Fury and his counterpart, WBA/WBO/IBF titlist Oleksandr Usyk remain the center of attraction for the ‘Ring of Fire’ event. But the Saudis are trying their best to stack some befitting fights on this already powerful card. It features multiple heavyweight matchups along with multiple titular challenges. Does it match the hype Alalshikh has been creating?

Turki Alalshikh Defends the “powerful” Card

As soon as the undercard details emerged on the internet, havoc set in the boxing world. However, the main man behind the card broke his silence to only defend the card that the Saudis have stacked. Firmly backing the choice of fighters on the undercard, the royal adviser to the Saudi court noted that this is not one of those events where mediocrity would thrive.

On an X, formerly Twitter post, which remains untraceable now, he remarked, “A powerful card for all boxing fans, featuring a minimum of 3 to 4 fights that could easily be main events. Anyone searching for lower quality or bizarre “clown” fights should look elsewhere. We are committed to delivering exceptional cards for boxing fans!”

Alalshikh was responding to a media report that highlighted that fans were “FURIOUS” and were not believing what they were seeing. Michael Benson, the boxing reporter archived the post when it emerged on his X timeline.

It is interesting to note that the fights on the undercard are some of the most important fights for boxing as they will determine how the sport will navigate through the titles once the event takes its course. Here is everything you need to know about the undercard for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk.

Is this a “lower quality” fight?

The ‘Ring of Fire’ card includes two other title fights. Aussie-fame, Jai Opetaia and Latvian, Mairis Briedis will face off in a rematch for the vacant IBF cruiserweight belt. IBF super featherweight titlist, Joe Cordina will defend the title against the challenge of Anthony Cacace, while the latter defends his IBO belt.

Other fights on the heavily stacked undercard include:

• Agit Kabayel vs Frank Sanchez (heavyweight)
• Sergey Kovalev vs Robin Sirwan (cruiserweight)
• Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Oluwaseun (super featherweight)
• Isaac Lowe vs Hasibullah Ahmadi (featherweight)
• Moses Itauma vs Ilja Mazencev (heavyweight)
• David Nyika vs Michael Seitz (cruiserweight)

On May 18th, it will be apparent if the card will be as powerful as Alalshikh claims it is. Which among these fights are you most excited about? Take your picks in the comments section below.

Also Read: Tyson Fury Hires New Sparring Partner Following Eye Injury for Oleksandr Usyk Fight