Oleksandr Usyk makes Tyson Fury 'lying' claim in bare-knuckle fight offer

Oleksandr Usyk has rebuffed claims that he didn't want to fight Tyson Fury, offering to fight the Gypsy King in a bare-knuckle bout - and confirming he signed papers for a unification bout.

The pair are set on a collision course for a potential clash together in the ring if they win their upcoming bouts against Dillian Whyte and Anthony Joshua respectively.

However, it wasn't too long ago that a more immediate unification bout was on the cards amid ongoing speculation that Joshua would agree to step-aside with a pay-off.

That soon fell apart, with Fury since dubbing Usyk a 'p*****' and claiming he had ducked a fight, something that the Ukrainian denies.

"He's lying, I never duck anybody. If he wants I can fight him right now, with bare knuckles in the street. In all my career, I never ducked anybody," he told Behind the Gloves.

"I even went to Moscow [to fight Murat Gassiev] when the situation between the countries were very tight, I showed everyone what I'm capable to do.

"It's boxing, anything can happen we know that. I think Fury will take it seriously and have good preparation for that fight, my opinion."

Usyk has added he doesn't know why a proposed unification fight collapsed but made it clear he had agreed to the offer.

"I don't know who was offered what, I know only one thing. From our side when we were offered, we signed the paper right away. We were sitting quietly waiting for the news, but then the news came out that Fury has to fight with Whyte and that [the undisputed fight] is not happening.

"Maybe it's a possibility after this fight, it's not going to be tight with the sanctions. The winner of Usyk vs Joshua can fight the winner of Fury vs Whyte."