Boxing legend Mike Tyson has suggested Tyson Fury might have beaten Oleksandr Usyk if he hadn’t been ‘playing around’ during the initial rounds.
In their previous encounter in May, Usyk dealt ‘The Gypsy King’ his first professional defeat in a tight contest, securing a split decision win in Riyadh and consequently becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion, a title last held by Lennox Lewis in 1999.
As both fighters prime themselves in the build-up to their much-anticipated rematch on December 21, speculation is rife over the outcome of this latest clash and whether it will set the stage for a trilogy. Renowned former heavyweight champ ‘Iron Mike’, chiming in with his own perspective to Fox Sports Radio, commented: “Tyson Fury could have won that fight if he wasn’t playing around early in the fight.”
With the highly anticipated rematch just around the corner, Tyson Fury has spoken out about his intentions for the fight, stressing the importance of taking a serious approach. ‘The Gypsy King’ is expected to bulk up to 19 stone 7lbs (273lbs) for the upcoming bout, which is nearly a stone heavier than his weight in their initial clash.
Fury’s strategy seems to be focused on delivering a knockout blow to his Ukrainian opponent. In an interview with Undisputed, Fury declared his aggressive stance: “I’m going to go in there with destroy mode,” and further elaborated on his mindset, saying, “Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious… Anybody can get caught as we have seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights.”
He made his intentions crystal clear by stating, “But this time I’m not going for a points decision. I’m going to knock that motherf***er out. For the first time in years, I’m going in there as a challenger, not a champion. And I believe that I’m better as a challenger, always, because I’ve got that goal of achieving something and it’s giving me a fire underneath.”
During a recent ‘FACE OFF’ showdown on DAZN’s official YouTube channel, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, also known as ‘The Gypsy King’, confidently spoke of his preparation for his upcoming bout with Usyk. He reflected positively on their initial confrontation and maintained there would be no changes in his camp ahead of the rematch.
“There’s no excuses, I had a fantastic training camp,” Fury declared. “I thought I did fantastic in the fight and he did fantastic. So, he got his result. Fair play, end of. There’s no more talking to be said, I did nothing wrong and I did everything good. So did he. He got the decision, a split decision… a cat’s whisker. If I would’ve got the decision, great! He got the decision, fantastic. There’s not much to say is there? Am I going to change everything in my camp because I lost a split decision? Hell no.”
