Tyson Fury has confirmed the planned date for his historic showdown with Oleksandr Usyk.

Earlier this month both teams confirmed that they had put pen to paper on a deal to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.

Since Fury still has to come through unscathed against former UFC champion, Francis Ngannou, this weekend, the date and venue are yet to be formally announced.

Rumours and reports suggested that December 23 had been targeted. Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of his fight with the MMA star, Fury confirmed that the end-of-year date was indeed the plan and that Usyk had no choice but to face him then.

"Usyk’s a sausage. I’m expecting it to take place in December, that’s what I’ve been told, so I’ve got no reason to disbelieve it for sure.

"Usyk has to fight me in December, doesn’t have a choice. He’s signed a contract so if he doesn’t, he’s breached contract and he gets sued, so doesn’t really have a choice."

In an earlier interview, the Ukrainian suggested he was still overcoming some niggling injuries from his title defence against Daniel Dubois back in August and would need a 14-week camp to prepare for ‘The Gypsy King’ – but according to the WBC champion, the fight will be happening in December. Whether or not this ultimatum is a part of mind games ahead of their showdown remains to be seen.

Fury faces Ngannou in what will be his first fight in nearly a year, having stopped old foe Derek Chisora back in December 2022. If, as most expect, he comes through against the 37-year-old then it looks like fans are in line for an early Christmas present.