Oleksandr Usyk issues emphatic two-word response to fears Tyson Fury might pull out of rematch – ahead of end-of-year showdown with Gypsy King
- Ukrainian beat Brit on points in May to become undisputed world champion
- Fury has been practicing karate during training after being spotted on a big night out
- Usyk is confident the Gypsy King will not pull out of the December 21 fight
Oleksandr Usyk has responded to fears that Tyson Fury may pull out of the pair’s heavyweight rematch in May.
The Ukrainian defeated the Gypsy King on points in May to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, coming back from a few tough rounds in the middle of the fight to finish strongly.
A rematch is scheduled for December 21, while the contract for the bout expires on December 31. The match has been postponed so that the two boxers can recover from their various facial injuries.
The Briton’s chance for redemption is expected to take place in Saudi Arabia once again, with Fury seen performing a number of unusual training exercises, including karate kicking a punching bag.
But there are rumours that the 36-year-old is planning to pull out of the bout, and Usyk has now given his opinion on the speculation in an interview with Ready to fight.
Oleksandr Usyk has responded to fears that Tyson Fury may be preparing to pull out of May’s heavyweight rematch
The Ukrainian defeated the Gypsy King on points in May to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world
Usyk put Fury in trouble in the ninth round and nearly knocked out the Gypsy King
He said, ‘No way, because the ball is in our court now.’
‘He has a contract and so do I until December 31st. We have to keep this fight going until that date.
‘If he withdraws on December 21, he will lose all his money and dividends and will no longer be a man of his word.
‘Now that we’ve started, we’re going to the training camp.’
Usyk nearly defeated Fury in the ninth round of a gripping fight, landing 14 unanswered punches against the Briton, forcing his opponent to lean on the ropes for support.
The Gypsy King somehow survived the onslaught and made it to the end of the match, but the Ukrainian believes he can learn from the first match and perform even better in the repechage.
‘From the last fight with Tyson Fury I learned a lot about him. A lot of the things I saw in the fight I didn’t see on TV, despite all the Tyson Fury fights I saw.
‘So we will prepare even better and, God willing, and if God wins, we will be in top form again.
“I have an incredible motivation. I often hear that I have done everything, what now, there is nothing more. But we just work every day, every day is a new day.”
Fury’s unusual karate training, itself taken from Usky’s book of weird and wonderful exercises, was at least a step in the right direction after he was previously spotted enjoying a night out at the Cibo Restaurant in Wilmslow.
Fury is seen showing off his take on karate ahead of their long-awaited rematch
Fans were quick to suggest Fury was jumping on Usyk’s ‘weird and wonderful’ training bandwagon
Usyk and his team were emotional after the fight in May and posed with a Ukrainian flag
He will need to be at his best to overturn May’s defeat. The scorecards reflected the competitive nature of the bout, with one judge giving Fury the advantage 114-113, but the other two giving Usyk the advantage 115-112 and 114-113, giving him the split decision win.
Usyk’s victory not only marked Fury’s first professional loss, taking his record to 33-1-1, but also cemented Usyk’s place in history as the first undisputed four-title heavyweight champion.
However, after the match the Gypsy King was convinced that he had won, stating that he had dominated most of the rounds.