There is a clear favourite to win a second fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury after their rematch was officially confirmed on Wednesday.
Usyk and Fury will do battle once again in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the rematch date pencilled in for December 21.
Usyk defeated Fury via split decision in their first clash earlier this month after scoring a knockdown in round nine and finishing the fight strongly.
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After the bout, 'The Gypsy King' stated that he would invoke his rematch clause in order to have another shot at winning the unified heavyweight championships, which Usyk claimed as a result of his victory.
But that rematch clause was not officially triggered until Wednesday, with Turki Alalshikh taking to Twitter to confirm that a date for the fight had been decided.
He wrote: "The rematch between the Undisputed Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the Champion Tyson Fury is now scheduled on the 21 of December 2024 during Riyadh Season... The world will watch another historical fight again... Our commitment to boxing fans continues... We hope you enjoy it."
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The match could mean that the IBF belt will not be up for grabs on the night, as Usyk could be stripped of it given the delay on the originally anticipated fight date of October.
However, his promoter Alexander Krassyuk has confirmed that an exemption will be requested.
As far as the odds go, Usyk is the clear favourite with the bookmakers to secure his second consecutive win over Fury in December.
The Ukrainian is rated odds-on at 8/15 by Betfair to beat Fury, with the British fighter down at 6/4. A draw, meanwhile, is the outside bet at 14/1.
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A Betfair spokesperson said: "Ahead of their highly-anticipated rematch in Riyadh on December 21, Oleksandr Usyk is the odds-on 8/15 favourite to beat Tyson Fury.
"Fury is 6/4 to beat Usyk and become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, while the odds of a draw happening is 14/1."
Topics: Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Fan Reactions
Ryan Smart