‘It’s Usyk next... or don’t bother’: Tyson Fury’s father says Ukrainian champ is the only true contender to Gypsy King’s throne

John Fury, the father of newly reconfirmed WBC heavyweight champion Tyson, says that undefeated Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk is the only fighter who poses a risk to him – and has told him to ignore all other challengers.

Fury cemented his status as heavyweight boxing's undisputed kingpin on Saturday night as he knocked out Deontay Wilder in the 11th round of a blistering bout in Las Vegas. 

It was the second successive finish that Fury has engineered against his power-punching rival and puts a cap on a three-fight series which dates back to 2018, leaving just one question: who is next for The Gypsy King?

According to John Fury, there is only one man who makes sense.

"He's got to go for Usyk or nothing in my idea. It's Usyk next or nothing," former professional boxer Fury, 57, told Talksport.

"I wouldn't bother with the rest of them, they're not in Tyson's class."

Usyk earned his seat at heavyweight boxing's top table last month when he upset the odds to defeat Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision in London, claiming his fellow Olympic gold medallist's array of world title belts while throwing a significant spanner in the works for the hypothetical Fury-Joshua fight which boxing fans have been pining after for several years.

Recent reports have indicated that Joshua is pursuing his rematch clause with Usyk in a bid to reclaim the world titles he lost, leaving Fury likely to be subject to a mandatory WBC title defence – likely against fellow Briton Dillian Whyte.

John Fury, though, finds it difficult to get motivated for this.

"Would Dillian Whyte deal with Deontay Wilder? No. So why would you want to put him in with my son and get him knocked out?

"At the end of the day, he just got knocked out by a 42-year-old man [Alexander Povetkin, who beat Whyte in August 2020 before the Briton gained revenge in March] via a slap by the back of his hand.

"Tyson can't get up for them kind of fights. He wouldn't raise his game for that fight as he's not big enough. And then he goes in there with a lacklustre attitude and you don't see the best of Tyson. 

"You only see the best of Tyson when he's against the best. A challenge like he had [against Wilder made for] a great fight. For me, I told him: Usyk or don't bother."

That is a path which Tyson Fury's UK promoter, Frank Warren, also sees as the correct one, indicating in the wake of Fury's KO win against Wilder that his fighter might well be content to sit on the sidelines and await what happens in the impending Joshua-Usyk rematch, which is expected to take place in spring 2022.

"Maybe we can make the winner of that [Joshua vs Usyk] fight," Warren said on Saturday.

"Autumn, maybe this time next year. They are talking about putting that fight on some time in March, so they'll need six months after that – so that's when it would happen.

"It'd be an ideal world for Anthony Joshua not to go for the rematch so we can just get straight to it."