NO CHRISTMAS OR BOXING DAY

Fury's festive showdown with Usyk is KO'd but mega-purses mean it WILL still go ahead

- CHRIS McKENNA

TYSON FURY'S Christmas cracker showdown with Oleksandr Usyk is set to be put on ice but it WILL happen.

The British WBC champ's fumbling around with Francis Ngannou on Saturday looks set to have forced the shelving of the December 23 date for the undisputed heavyweight clash.

So often we have seen big fights fall away due to shock defeats, promotional politics or contractual nonsense.

But this time it is different - there is only one way the bout will not take place and that is if either Fury or his Ukrainian rival retires.

They have signed contracts, which are legally binding and stop either man facing another foe until they have shared the ring.

These were drafted by lawyers on behalf of the Public Investment Fund in Saudi Arabia, so there is no wiggle room. Plus the money is so eye-wateringly huge either would have to lose the plot to try to skip this bout.

Fury wants a February clash to give himself time to recover from a harder-than-expected clash with MMA star Ngannou.