--- title: "“Usik Is Not a Backup”: Ukrainian’s Camp Responds Sharply to Fury’s Trilogy Calls" description: "Usyk’s camp reacted to Fury’s calls for a third fight. Team director Serhiy Lapin called the Ukrainian not a backup option and advised the Briton to look for an opponent through the Ready to Fight platform." date: 2026-09-08T09:34:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/usik-fury-trilogy-lapin-response tags: [boxing, usyk, fury, joshua, trilogy, heavyweight] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # “Usik Is Not a Backup”: Ukrainian’s Camp Responds Sharply to Fury’s Trilogy Calls ![Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury in the ring during their fight, context of Fury's trilogy call](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/08/usik-fury-trilogy-lapin-response/usik-fury-trilogy-lapin-response-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - Usyk’s camp called Fury’s trilogy calls press talk with no real basis - Team director Serhiy Lapin advised Fury to look for an opponent through the Ready to Fight platform - Fury and Joshua’s talks hit a dead end over the arena dispute: London versus Madison Square Garden - Usyk beat Fury twice (May and December 2024), stripped the belts in June after the Verhoeven fight, but did not retire In the camp of former heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk, a public reaction was given to Tyson Fury’s latest statements. After talks with Anthony Joshua fell through, the British boxer has been actively proposing a third fight, a “trilogy rematch,” to the Ukrainian. According to Sport RBC.UA, citing Sky Sports, the team of the 39-year-old boxer called these calls press talk with no real basis, and emphasized that Oleksandr does not intend to serve as a “backup” for the Briton in case he fails to reach an agreement with the primary candidate. ### “Go to Ready to Fight” The team’s position was most sharply formulated by Usyk’s team director Serhiy Lapin. He not only rejected the very idea of a trilogy but also ironically advised the “Gypsy King” to use a specialized service for finding opponents. “Usik is not a spare option for Tyson. If Fury needs an opponent, he should go to the Ready to Fight platform. There they will help him find a worthy opponent. Oleksandr is always open to big challenges. But serious intentions are confirmed by a concrete offer, not statements in the press,” Lapin emphasized. Thus, the Ukrainian’s camp has effectively shifted the burden of proof onto Fury’s side: without an official contract and specific terms, any public appeals are regarded as marketing noise. ### Talks with Joshua Have Hit a Dead End The reason for Fury’s sharp activity toward Usyk was the complication of negotiations for a fight against Anthony Joshua, which, according to reports, was planned for November. According to available information, the sides have hit a dead end due to disagreements over the arena: both teams are allegedly striving to hold the fight in London, while the promoters are considering the option of New York’s Madison Square Garden. Against this backdrop, Fury had already harshly criticized Joshua, and is now, in effect, demonstrating to the market that he has a “plan B” in the form of Usik — although Usik himself and his team categorically do not confirm this. ### Context: Two Victories and Stripped Belts It is worth recalling that Usyk has already beaten Fury twice — in May and December 2024 — taking all the heavyweight world titles. In June, the Ukrainian held his next fight, defeating former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven in Cairo, after which he stripped himself of the championship belts, but did not officially announce his retirement. This means that formally he remains an active boxer, open to “big challenges,” but at the same time he is not obliged to accept terms dictated by someone else’s negotiations. ### What This Means for Fans The bottom line of the current exchange is simple: the Usik–Fury trilogy at this moment exists only in the Briton’s public statements and is not confirmed by any side from the Ukrainian’s camp. Until Fury presents a concrete commercial and organizational offer, rather than a press release, Usyk’s team intends to regard his calls as an attempt to pressure the negotiations with Joshua. Thus, the key to the third fight lies not in words but in a contract — and it is precisely this, according to Lapin, that should become the filter for any “serious intentions.” ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Not a backup option: Usyk’s camp responds sharply to Fury’s trilogy calls](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/boxing/zapasniy-variant-tabori-usika-zhorstko-vidpovili-1788859902.html) - Первичный источник: цитата директора команды Усика Сергея Лапина, ссылка на Sky Sports, контекст переговоров с Джошуа и история двух побед над Фьюри. - [Usik–Fury trilogy: Ukrainian intrigues with a new statement](https://korrespondent.net/sport/boks/4848200-trylohyia-usyk-fuiry-ukraynets-zayntryhoval-novym-zaiavlenyem) - Подтверждает тему публичных заявлений по поводу возможного третьего боя как актуальный спортивный контекст. - [Ukrainian comments on the possibility of a third fight with Fury](https://korrespondent.net/sport/boks/4870945-ukraynets-prokommentyroval-vozmozhnost-treteho-boia-s-fuiry) - Подтверждает тему публичных заявлений по поводу возможного третьего боя как актуальный спортивный контекст. - [Usyk assesses Fury’s victory over Mahmudov](https://www.sports.kz/news/usik-otsenil-pobedu-fyuri-nad-mahmudovyim) - Фоновый контекст: текущая форма и активность Фьюри в тяжелом весе, подтверждающая его статус действующего боксера, ищущего соперника. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why did Usyk’s camp reject a trilogy with Fury? **A:** The Ukrainian’s team called Fury’s calls press talk. Team director Serhiy Lapin emphasized that Usik is not a backup option for the Briton, and that serious intentions must be confirmed by a concrete offer, not by statements. ### Q: What did Serhiy Lapin advise Tyson Fury to do? **A:** Lapin ironically advised Fury to go to the Ready to Fight platform, where they would help him find a worthy opponent, since Usik is not his “backup.” ### Q: Why did Fury start talking about a fight with Usyk? **A:** The reason is the complication of negotiations for a November fight with Anthony Joshua, which hit a dead end over the arena dispute (London versus Madison Square Garden). ### Q: How many times has Usyk already boxed Fury and what was the result? **A:** Usyk beat Fury twice — in May and December 2024. In June he stripped himself of the championship belts after beating Rico Verhoeven in Cairo, but did not announce his retirement.