‘Chatterbox’ Tyson Fury hasn’t got the ‘courage’ to fight Oleksandr Usyk, coach claims

Fury will take on Derek Chisora in a trilogy bout in December, before a potential clash with Usyk next year

Oleksandr Usyk’s assistant coach Sergey Lapin has accused Tyson Fury of avoiding a fight with the unbeaten Ukrainian, following last week’s announcement that the Briton will fight compatriot Derek Chisora next.

After Fury retained the WBC heavyweight title in April and Usyk retained the other major belts in the division in August, it seemed that the pair would face one another next to crown an undisputed champion.

However, Fury was keen to return to the ring in December, and Usyk is not set to be fit in time. As such, Fury has now turned his attention to a trilogy bout with Derek Chisora – whom he has already beaten twice – in London on 3 December.

“[Usyk] is waiting for the chatterbox Tyson Fury to finally have the courage to enter the ring with him,” Lapin told Lord Ping.

“In the meantime Fury fights Derek Chisora. This is not an interesting fight, who will like this fight? Tyson is looking for easy fights.

“Next year, the fight for the title of undisputed world champion against Tyson Fury is our priority. This is the main goal, but if this does not happen for whatever reason, then I hope that there will still be some very interesting fights ahead.”

Fury, 34, has said he intends to take on Usyk, 35, after fighting Chisora.

In the meantime, Usyk has been linked to Deontay Wilder, who returned to the ring with a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius this month after a year away.

However, Lapin played down the threat of the American, who could instead fight Andy Ruiz Jr next.

“Deontay Wilder is a name that’s been mentioned,” said Lapin. “Usyk does not fear Wilder. From Wilder’s last fight, I didn’t see anything new.

“This guy is very simple. He goes out and hits and he has a very strong punch. He compensates for his lack of technique.”

Usyk’s last fight saw the southpaw outpoint Anthony Joshua for the second time in 11 months to stay unbeaten, like Fury, and keep hold of the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.