Carl Froch is not convinced that Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will be fighting on the currently scheduled date of February 17.

The pair are set to fight for all four belts in the heavyweight division, as they battle it out to see who is crowned the first undisputed heavyweight world champion of the four belt era.

All the belts in the heavyweight division will be on the line when Fury and Usyk fight

But Froch doesn’t see it happening on February 17, as he thinks ‘The Gypsy King’ will need more time to prepare.

“He’s got a bit of timber on him, a bit of derby that he needs to reign in before the fight,” Froch said on his YouTube channel.

“I think it’s gonna be a tough one for Tyson to have a good Christmas and New Year, relax, and let his bald head down over Christmas and New Year.

“He’s got a wonderful family, we’ve seen on Netflix. He’s got a big family, his wife and seven children. So, he’s gonna want to relax and have a good time.

“Is he going to want to be training over Christmas and New Year, which he’s going to have to do, if he’s going to be ready for the February event?

“I’m not so sure, I’ve got a feeling that fight might get pushed back until March. You heard it here first.”

Froch continued: “Hopefully it does happen in February.

“The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight for the unification – for the heavyweight undisputed unification fight – has to happen.

“I’m optimistic it will, I’ve just got my reservations that it’s going to happen in February.”

And Froch is not the first person to share this concern, as Tyson’s dad, John Fury, told the Metro.co.uk something similar.

He said: “The 17th February is the date they have got to work towards. But, in my opinion, Tyson needs a bit more time to get his conditioning right and his weight right.

“For my money, his last three fights, I have seen a bit of decline,” referring to his bouts against Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and most recently Francis Ngannou, who he clashed with in Saudi Arabia.

“Not a decline in ability but a decline in strength, power and physical condition,” John continued.

“I don’t know what they are doing up there, you have to address it. He didn’t look himself out in Saudi.

“He didn’t look right, everything had changed about him, his demeanor, his body. I was puzzled…

“For my money he looked fat-thin, he should have been better, a bit heavier with a lot more muscle.

“Tyson is a mammoth fella. He needs to power up in the body department and the only way you do that is a proper course and they take time and we don’t have the time.”