A fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to be the undisputed world heavyweight champion is “very close” to being finalized, Usyk promoter Alex Krassyuk has said.
Fury, 34, defends his WBC title against fellow Briton Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Victory will then set up a meeting with IBF, IBO, WBO and WBA champion Usyk early next year.
Usyk, 35, will be in London this weekend to watch the Fury-Chisora fight.
Looking ahead to an undisputed contest, Krassyuk told BBC Sport: “We’re very close. This fight is about to happen. It’s a historic fight.
“It’s a special moment for Usyk because he has a chance to unify the belts in two divisions, to be the undisputed heavyweight champion and to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. He can’t miss this opportunity. “
“From Usyk’s point of view, Usyk is ready for this challenge.
“All we need is a yes from Tyson Fury, as he used to say, a Ukrainian bunny middleweight. He [will] get bitten and his belt will go to Ukraine.”
There hasn’t been an undisputed heavyweight contest since Briton Lennox Lewis beat American Evander Holyfield in November 1999.
Krassyuk said the window for a Fury-Usyk fight, should he defeat Chisora, 38, as planned, would be between February 18 and March 4.
“This fight can happen at every point on earth,” Krassyuk added. “At the moment, our number one priority is our partners in the Middle East, which is Saudi Arabia.”
Krassyuk is in London with Ukrainian lightweight Denys Berinchyk, who takes on France’s Yvan Mendy for the European lightweight belt on the undercard.
“Usyk will definitely want to look into the eyes of his next opponent,” added Krassyuk. “He will be at ringside to watch and maybe after the [fight] he will want to say a few words to the winner.
“He wants to prove, make a statement to the world that he’s for this fight [with Fury].”
During Thursday’s press conference, Bob Arum, co-promoter of Fury in the United States and general manager of Top Rank, felt that the fight would be easy to organize.
“I see no reason why the Usyk fight with Tyson Fury can’t be done quickly without too much trouble,” he said.
“I know Oleksandr Usyk wants the fight, I spoke with Tyson and he wants the fight.
“This fight will happen next unless Mr. Chisora lands his punch. Don’t overlook Chisora, he’s a hell of a fighter.
“I remember when he fought Usyk he gave life or death to Usyk and that fight could have gone either way. In this business you can’t count your chickens until they hatched .”
