Tyson Fury has reportedly been forced to pull out of his undisputed heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk after suffering a cut in training.
Both fighters have been finalising their camps in Saudi Arabia to get ready for the blockbuster bout.
It has been scheduled as the first time all four heavyweight belts are up for grabs since Lennox Lewis became the undisputed champion in 1999.
But Sports Illustrated now sensationally claim the fight on February 17th is off between Fury and Usyk.
Tyson Fury has suffered a huge cut in training
Usyk's manager, Egis Klimas, is reported to have broken the news about Fury's supposed cut.
The scheduled fight between the two is now said to be off, although Usyk still wants to fight on February 17th.
The Ukrainian's team feel Fury may not be able to fight for 'several months' as he recovers from the cut.
It's suggested that boxing fans may now have to wait until the end of the year for the fight to be rescheduled when the next Riyadh season comes around or even early 2025.
Queensbury Promotions confirmed the news on social media and uploaded a picture of Fury's cut on Instagram.
A statement read: "WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has been forced to postpone his fight with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk after sustaining a freak cut during a sparring session in Riyadh.
"The cut, which opened above Fury's right eye, required urgent medical attention and significant stitching, and will obviously require a period of recovery, scuppering any possibility of the fight with Usyk taking place on February 17 in Saudi Arabia."
A spokesperson for Queensbury Promotions refused to put a timeline on when Fury could possibly return.
Oleksandr Usyk still wants to fight on February 17th
GETTY
They said: "Whilst this is still breaking news it is clearly a massive disappointment after the work that has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world.
"Once the Doctors have appraised Tyson's eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed.
"Once known we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everyone updated with developments."
There were rumours last month that Fury had been dropped during sparring during his training camp.
Johnny Nelson raised the concerns, although it was denied by both Fury's camp as well as Jai Opetaia's team.
Usyk has only fought once since beating Anthony Joshua for a second time in August 2022.
