On Saturday evening, Tyson Fury will walk to the ring for the 36th time as a professional, but it will be the first time he enters the squared circle knowing the man standing in the opposite corner has beaten him in a boxing match.
In May 2024, Fury, 36, and Usyk, 37, went toe-to-toe in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the WBA (Super), IBF, WBA, WBO, IBO and The Ring heavyweight titles.
After a gruelling 12-round war, the Ukrainian saw his hand raised by referee Mark Nelson, crowning him the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis over two decades earlier.
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For Fury, the defeat was his first in the paid ranks.
In the lead-up to the first bout, training camp did not go as planned.
The historic fight was originally scheduled for February 27, 2024, but was pushed back to May 18, 2024 after Fury sustained a nasty cut in sparring during training camp.
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Although Fury’s cut held up against Usyk, he later admitted that he “would have pushed it back a little bit” despite potentially facing a £10m fine as a result.
Speaking to Sky Sports after his arrival in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the self-proclaimed ‘Gypsy King’ revealed how he had done “lots of sparring” this time around, whereas last camp, he had done less due to having a “massive bounty” on his cut eye.
'One of the major problems last time...'
Fury’s strength and conditioning coach, Kristian Blacklock, has given an inside take on all the happenings of Fury’s camp this time around.
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“One of the major problems last time…he had the cut, and then we had to go home,” Blacklock told SPORTbible.
“And then we had the rearranged date.
“Once we had that rearranged date, it didn’t give him a huge amount of time to let that cut heal.
“There was always going to be a bit of a balance and a compromise with his training. His sparring was a little bit less than normal for the last camp, and he stopped it a little bit earlier than normal.
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"That camp was different because of that.”
A loss was a new experience for Fury, with many fans wondering how he would react to losing his sense of invincibility.
But Blackstock explained how the heavyweight did not take the defeat too badly and was back in the gym just weeks after the fight against Usyk.
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“There was no negativity, he [Tyson Fury] wasn’t depressed, he wasn’t down,” he explained.
“He seemed in a good mood day after day after day. And was very motivated to put it [the loss] right in the rematch.
“I’d go as far as to say it was the most pleasant Tyson Fury that I’ve known in the ten years of working with him.”
Blacklock's words may come as a warning to Usyk who is an eccentric character in his own right. The 37-year-old is yet to meet his match as a professional but according to the Mail has employed some unusual tactics in camp - namely emblazoning photographs from their first encounter on the walls of the gym accompanied by an 'Undisputed' banner.
Looking ahead to Saturday night, Usyk still has an unbeaten record to maintain but for Fury the pressure has been relieved, according to Blacklock.
“It’s almost like the pressure has been taken off a little bit… people are very protective of the ‘0’, and they’re desperate not to lose,” he added.
“There was massive pressure on that fight and coming away and having a loss, realising it’s not that bad.”
He went on to reveal how Fury was still exercising in the days after the defeat as it is an important factor in Fury’s “psyche”.
Fury and his team have spent much of this camp in Malta, but apart from the change of location, Blackstock explained how Team Fury have not “dramatically changed anything” despite making some “little adaptions” after analysing the first fight.
In the early part of fight week, Fury has cut a focused figure during his various media commitments.
But if he fails to avenge his loss against Usyk on Saturday evening, the inevitable questions about retirement will be put to Fury and his team.
“Win, lose or draw, this could be his last fight,” explained Blacklock.
"Win, lose or draw, he could want to fight on – it’s his decision. It’ll be based on his body, what motivation he’s got and what opportunities he’s got.
“For me, I’d be happy if he wins this fight and retires, I think that would be an ideal way to finish your career. If he wins this, a trilogy makes sense if it’s one-all. So, who knows?
“If he is going to fight on, it’s got to be a juicy fight. We’ll see what happens.”
It is not out of the question that the Morecambe-based boxer grabs the microphone at the Kingdom Arena and admits that he is retiring.
And if so, he would go down as one of Britain’s greatest boxers, but could he walk away from a sport he loves for good?
When asked what retirement could look like for Fury, Blacklock dismissed any suggestion of Fury going into MMA, saying: “He’s never training specifically in MMA."
However, Fury’s coach admitted that he couldn’t “imagine him” walking away from the sport completely, and even mentioned the prospect of the 36-year-old becoming “anything from a commentator to a coach” if he were to retire.
No matter what happens on Saturday, we're unlikely to have seen the last of Fury.
How to watch Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for free
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To watch Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk go head to head, there are three options.
1) You can watch the rematch for free on DAZN. All you need to do is sign up for a seven-day free trial and simply cancel your subscription once the event is over. You’ll be able to stream the match on a range of devices including Playstation, Chromecast, and Smart TV with more coverage than any other broadcaster. Once your free trial ends, a pay-per-view subscription will cost £24.99 per month and gives you access to over 150 fights every year, but alternatively you have the option to cancel before you are charged for your second month.
2) You can also tune in live on Sky Sports Box Office (Sky channel 491). The event is priced at £24.95 for Sky customers in the UK and $27.95 if you’re based in the Republic of Ireland. Sadly Sky does not offer free trials, but Sky subscribers can book the match here and if you’re new to Sky, you can sign up here.
3) Alternatively, you can watch the fight on TNT Sports with a Prime Video subscription (free for the first month then £8.99/ month), provided you have discovery+ (from £3.99/ month) as part of your subscription.
Topics: Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Spotlight, Heavyweight Boxing
Luke Alfred Davies