Frank Warren, co-promoter of WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, says the hands for Oleksandr Usyk spread a lot of propaganda about his boxer not wanting to move forward with an undisputed fight.

Usyk, who holds the WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA titles, will be ringside on Saturday in Saudi Arabia when Fury steps in the ring with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in a non-title crossover boxing match.

Provided Fury walks away without injury, the showdown with Usyk will take place on December 23 in Saudi Arabia.

'There was so much nonsense about Tyson not wanting this fight and a lot of propaganda was being put out by Usyk's people which was untrue. Tyson signed for that fight last year and it didn't happen because the promoters over here could not deliver the venue. It was going to be December, Usyk was injured, then February, then April, then we tried to get it on in London - we agreed the terms," Warren said to The Daily Mail.

"Then they were offered to do the fight this December and they bowed out of it and used all the excuses about Tyson asking for more. He never asked for anything else. The contract expired with [Saudi boxing promoters] Skills Challenge and that is the truth of what happened."

Warren had hoped to keep the Usyk fight a secret until Fury's bout with Ngannou had been concluded.

However, he expected news of the contest to get leaked after filing paperwork with the IBF to delay Usyk's mandatory obligation to unbeaten Filip Hrgovic.

"That wasn't done deliberately [to announce Fury-Usyk] that was only done because we'd lodged the contracts with the IBF and we knew it would leak so we felt it would be better if it was leaked from us rather than elsewhere," Warren said. "I think [Fury] is a bit annoyed about that and I understand that but it's done."