Tyson Fury‘s attempt to kill two birds with one stone appears to have fallen flat. Sergey Lapin, Oleksandr Usyk‘s manager, has made it clear that Fury would need to do more than simply call out the Ukrainian for a trilogy fight.

“Usyk is not Tyson’s backup plan,” Lapin told Sky Sports. “If Fury needs an opponent, he should visit the Ready to Fight platform. They can help him find a worthy opponent there.

“Oleksandr is always open to big challenges. But serious intentions are backed by a concrete offer, not statements in the press.”

Team Usyk’s comments follow Fury’s open call-out in his latest video. In an expletive-laden rant, the former WBC champion, who suffered consecutive losses to Usyk back in 2024, blamed Anthony Joshua for avoiding a fight.

Though both camps have agreed to a face-off, the much-anticipated showdown between the two British heavyweights has run into problems that continue to escalate, to the extent that it now appears increasingly uncertain whether the fight will happen.

The dispute has moved from promotional differences between UFC CEO Dana White and Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn to the venue where the fight should take place. Sticking to the original contract, which reportedly had a “UK-only” clause, Hearn insisted the fight take place at Wembley.

Meanwhile, Turki Alalshik and Netflix have expressed interest in having the fight take place in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

Reports indicating that Tyson Fury signed an altered contract allowing the fight to take place anywhere in the world have added another layer to the dispute.

With Team AJ, which received major endorsement from London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, unwilling to show any sign of budging from its position, Fury went after Joshua, describing AJ as a coward who is hiding behind a smokescreen.

It’s likely the former WBC heavyweight champ was trying to bait and pressure Joshua to finalize the deal. However, with no positive response coming from the Olympic gold medalist’s team, he felt it was better to shift his focus to other options, which included the now title-less Oleksandr Usyk.

“Oleksandr, you’re his [Joshua’s] trainer and his sensei, and you know he is a weak-minded piece of sh– and that he would never fight the Gypsy King, which you have had the guts to do twice,” Fury stated in his message. “You got the decisions last time; fair play to you. Good luck to you; let’s do it again. Let’s do it again.

“Let’s run it back in November. The ball is now in your court, Oleksandr. Do you want to fight me this year, 2026, or are you calling it quits? Let me know, because I’m now looking for a new opponent.”

With Sergey Lapin effectively telling Fury to look elsewhere, the Usyk option may have run dry.

The circumstances surrounding Usyk’s career may help explain Lapin’s response to Fury’s proposal.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury III: The road to a trilogy gets murkier

First, by vacating all of his belts, Usyk has clearly indicated that he is in the final stretch of his career. After defeating Fury in their December 2024 rematch, the Ukrainian faced Daniel Dubois for the second time and became an undisputed champion for the third time.

His next fight, against Rico Verhoeven, followed ten months later. The period saw Usyk vacate his WBO title and become a unified champion. Talks about a matchup against rising star Moses Itauma also emerged. Dismissing the plan, Usyk claimed he would fight till the age of 41 before retiring to build a sport academy.

In March this year, Usyk formally outlined his path to retirement, which included a voluntary fight against Verhoeven, followed by a showdown with the winner of the title fight between Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois, and finally, a trilogy with “greedy belly” Tyson Fury.

Of those three, only one, the fight against Verhoeven, happened. Things took a different turn after Usyk vacated his remaining three titles – WBC, WBA, and IBF – and explained that he now wants to have his “last dance.”

Against that backdrop, the latest reports indicate talks are underway to put together a fight against former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

Speaking with The Ring Magazine, Serhii Lapin reportedly shared that they are working toward a showdown in the United States, a first for Usyk, likely to take place by March 2027.

That timeline also makes sense given the difficulty Usyk faced in handling Verhoeven, with many feeling the former GLORY kickboxing champion had nearly won the fight. Usyk likely does not want to take any chance by stepping into another fight immediately.

Entering the final chapter of his outstanding career, the London Olympics gold medalist probably does not want to take a risk by accepting a matchup against someone like Fury, who could inflict a serious defeat. He wants to leave boxing with a clean record, one that preserves his unbeaten mark.

A fight against Wilder, who, while not completely shot, is still on a downward trajectory, is a relatively easier task for Usyk than facing a fighter of Fury’s caliber.

Still, that leaves questions for both former champions.

For Fury, Usyk has once again emerged as a target he can return to. The call-out gives him a ready excuse to claim that he continued to challenge the Ukrainian, who eventually refused to accept the fight.

For Usyk, meanwhile, some fans will definitely ask why he is hesitating after stating last year that he would take up the trilogy with Fury.