Oleksandr Usyk fears Tyson Fury will pull out for fifth time and already has replacement lined up

Oleksandr Usyk's manager Alexander Krassyuk fears Tyson Fury is poised to withdraw for a fifth time from their highly-anticipated boxing match set for May 18.

Krassyuk is wary due to Fury's history of pulling out and fears Usyk may end up facing a replacement in Riyadh next month. In such an event, Filip Hrgovic, the top-ranked IBF contender, has been identified as the potential stand-in. Usyk's manager revealed that the 37-year-old boxer has suffered "a triple camp" in preparation to take on Fury, who most recently had to withdraw from their fight after sustaining a severe cut just days before their planned encounter on February 17. This followed a postponement from the original December date, leaving Usyk without a fight since his victory over Daniel Dubois last August.

"Tyson Fury has withdrawn four times already from this fight," said Krassyuk to BoxingScene. "Remember that we were looking to fight last April; he pulled out of it then, too. That's why we fought Daniel Dubois. This will be the fourth camp we have had for Tyson Fury."

Krassyuk also shared his doubts about the rematch taking place, saying: "I've not got too much confidence in the rematch happening, by the way. If Tyson Fury loses, will he have the confidence to step inside the ring again? Theoretically he can, but we all know what happened in the rematch with Wladimir Klitschko."

The question remains as to who will emerge as the undisputed heavyweight champion on May 18. The businessman was referencing Klitschko's entitled rematch with Fury following his defeat by the Mancunian in November 2015. However, the anticipated rematch failed to come to fruition due to repeated medical postponements from Fury's camp, culminating in 'The Gypsy King' relinquishing his titles and 'retiring' amidst battling depression and a positive drug test.

Hrgovic, aged 31, is set to clash with Dubois on June 1 but now must be fight-ready two weeks prior, in case either Usyk or Fury pull out. Krassyuk further emphasised Usyk's eagerness to secure the title of the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years.

"Otherwise we will lose the [IBF] title," the entrepreneur remarked concerning Hrgovic's potential involvement. "It was one of our conditions. The game is about being undisputed. It's not about money - it's about heritage, about glory. Tyson Fury says he doesn't care about that, but at the press conference he was saying, 'Wow, the IBF, the WBO, the WBC, the WBA, the Ring Magazine, the undisputed, the lineal', which I've never heard of."

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