Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Boxing, Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Saudi Arabia
Chris Byfield
A change to the Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk fight card has been made just one week before the event.
Usyk and Fury go toe to toe for the second time on December 21 in Saudi Arabia.
The pair collided six months ago in Riyadh, with Usyk edging past the Briton via split decision to become the modern era’s first four-belt heavyweight champion.
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This time out, Usyk will defend his WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweights belts, hoping to hand Fury’s second ever defeat in 16 years as a pro. Unlike the first bout, the IBF belt now belongs to Daniel Dubois after Usyk was made to vacate it in the wake of his win over Fury.
With only a week until the fight, a scheduled undercard bout has been cancelled after an "adverse finding" was discovered in British super-bantamweight Dennis McCann’s anti doping test.
In turn, McCann’s fight with Peter McGrail has been pulled.
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Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority said on Friday evening: "The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) has today informed all relevant parties that Dennis McCann has returned an adverse finding following an anti-doping test conducted in advance of his upcoming bout.
"Mr. McCann’s scheduled fight next Saturday will no longer take place, as the relevant parties investigate the matter further.
"No further comment on this will be made at this time."
McCann’s promoter, Queensberry, also confirmed the cancellation.
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McCann claimed the European super-bantamweight title in July while the 23 is also British and Commonwealth champion. His fight against McGrail was one of five scheduled undercard fights for Fury vs Usyk 2.
Ahead of the main event Fury insisted he won't try to outbox Usyk in their rematch.
He said via The Sun: "I’ve always been a bad man my whole life, and I’m still one today at nearly 40 years old, a few years off 40.
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"I'm going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious.
"Anybody can get caught as we have seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights.
"But this time I'm not going for a points decision. I'm going to knock that motherf****r out."