- Oleksandr Usyk will face his rival Tyson Fury on February 17 in Saudi Arabia
- The Ukrainian world champion is confident he will emerge victorious from the fight
- Usyk believes he already has a mental advantage over Fury going into the fight
Oleksandr Usyk insists he has no doubt he will beat Tyson Fury in their undisputed heavyweight showdown in 2024.
Usyk and Fury will finally face each other for all four heavyweight titles on February 17 in Saudi Arabia, and with the fight less than eight weeks away, the Ukrainian has revealed he is already dreaming of winning.
“First of all, it's not 'if' I win, but 'when' I win,” Usyk said, as quoted by Air sports.
'When I go to sleep, I imagine I'm boxing, and then I raise my hand. I just believe I can win.”
Fury has built a reputation for winning the psychological battle with his opponents before their fights to give himself an edge in the ring.
Oleksandr Usyk is confident he will beat Tyson Fury when they fight in February
Usyk has revealed he already dreams of beating Fury (above) in their undisputed clash
During his opening press conference with Usyk last month, Fury hurled a series of insults at his rival, labeling him 'a rabbit' and 'a sausage', while also trying to intimidate him in their first clash.
Usyk managed to keep his cool, which only seemed to inflame Fury even more. Looking back on how things turned out, Usyk believes he already has a mental advantage over the 'Gypsy King'.
'I got into his head and instead of me he now thinks of a rabbit. Keep thinking, brother,” Usyk added.
'I've been listening to Eminem for years, his mother always called him a white rabbit. I don't know, I love this rapper.
Usyk feels that Fury is trying to intimidate him, indicating that he is already in his rival's head
'Tony Bellew once said I'm a beast in boxing, I said, 'Not really, I'm just a white rabbit.'
The mind games between the pair will likely only come into sharper focus as fight night approaches, but Usyk has vowed not to lay low when it comes to trash talk to keep a promise he made to his father, who just passed away in 2012. days after Usyk won Olympic gold in London.
“In my youth I was asked who I want to be when I grow up, I came home and asked his (Usyk's father) advice: who should I become when I grow up? He said, 'You have to become a good person,'” Usyk explained.
'First of all, you have to become a good and good person. From there you can achieve everything else.”