Tyson Fury’s co-promoter Bob Arum has given his fighter crucial advice on how to get revenge on Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King will have the opportunity to take revenge on the Ukrainian on Saturday evening, after losing the opening match via split decision in May.
Usyk crowned himself the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era that night in Riyadh and this time it’s the WBA, WBO and WBC belts he’s defending – after vacating the IBF title and dropping Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua about.
On Friday night, Fury weighed in 19 pounds heavier than he did during the first fight, clocking in at 281 pounds, although his actual weight is expected to be closer to 270 pounds. Meanwhile, Usyk came in at 226 pounds compared to the May fight when he weighed 223 pounds.
In an interview with Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly, Arum warned that Fury needs to capitalize more on his physical advantage over Usyk.
“He decided that even though (Deontay) Wilder was a great puncher, he was going to go right after him and lean on him and try to destroy him physically and he was able to do that (in their fights),” Arum said.
Tyson Fury must be more physical this time against Oleksandr Usyk, Bob Arum has advised
The Gypsy King weighed a whopping 281 pounds prior to the fight – 19 pounds more than in May
Fury’s co-promoter Arum believes he can win the physical battle, but the psychological battle will be incredibly challenging as Usyk is ‘tough as nails’
“I think he could try the same thing when it comes to that kind of fight with Usyk because he’s a lot bigger and he has to be a lot more physical with Usyk than he was in the first fight.”
However, he doesn’t expect Fury to find the mental battle easy.
‘Usyk is Ukrainian, I know (Wladimir) Klitschko is too, but Usyk has experienced the war and what is happening in Ukraine, very, very difficult to play mental games against the Ukrainian fighter because they have seen firsthand the horrors of the war, so anything that happens in a sport, even a tough sport like boxing, doesn’t intimidate them. Usyk is a tough guy, a great guy, a very intelligent guy, but tough as nails.”
One fight fans have been clamoring for for years is a showdown between Fury and Anthony Joshua, the two most successful British heavyweights of this era.
They had signed contracts to have an uncontested fight in August 2021. However, an arbitration court ruled that Fury should contest a third fight with Wilder.
If Joshua had defeated Daniel Dubois in September and Fury had defeated Usyk, they could have gone toe-to-toe in an uncontested fight. That won’t be the case, but many fans are still hoping they collide before hanging up the gloves.
Arum said: ‘If Tyson Fury wins the second fight (against Usyk) there will be a demand for a trilogy, but that demand can only really be met by the kingdom’s resources because they got so much money in the first two fights.
He recognizes the British public’s demand for a showdown with Anthony Joshua
“If it’s not a trilogy, the fight everyone in Britain wants to see is Fury versus AJ. No matter how many fights they win or lose, people would pack Wembley to see those two fight each other.
“I don’t think there were any negotiations with Fury and AJ because there was always another fight that each of them would do. If there’s another fight and you lose the other fight, it sidetracks what you’re doing.
HOW TO WATCH: Register and watch Usyk vs. Fury 2 on DAZN here