Following the first defeat of his professional career back in May, Fury was quick to accept the rematch with the Ukrainian – completely ignoring McGregor’s advice
Tyson Fury ignored former UFC two-division champion Conor McGregor’s advice after the Irishman insisted the Brit should not take up a rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Both Fury and Usyk went toe-to-toe earlier this year and in an epic back-and-forth encounter in Riyadh, the Brit had control of proceedings early on in the heavyweight dust-up. That said, the key moment in the fight came just past the midway point when the Ukrainian nearly stopped ‘The Gypsy King’. With only the ropes keeping him up, Fury was lucky to survive the round.
However, he failed to regain any sort of moment as the Ukrainian went on to win via split decision. Usyk is the favourite with the bookmakers to beat Fury again after he became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 by beating the Brit in May. Fury felt he won the bout with one judge scoring it 114-113 in his favour, but the other judges gave it 115-112 and 114-113 to Usyk.
Following the contest in Saudi Arabia, the pair were quick to agree a rematch – which is scheduled to take place on Saturday night. One man who was hoping to see Fury take a different fight was McGregor – an MMA icon.
Writing on Instagram following the first clash, McGregor said: “A mad hiding! What next, who knows. Usyk is incredible. He has beat both soundly. Whatever moves towards Tyson AJ I am for. If Fury wishes to go a second try at the wheel, AJ had two attempts so why not. Tall ask. Not impossible also. If not, AJ Usyk III last hoorah, and then win lose or draw go Tyson AJ”. He added: “What a time to be alive thank you to the fighting gods and to God.”
Speaking ahead of the blockbuster sequel, Fury is convinced that the first fight overall was more punishing for the Ukrainian. “After the fight they said he had a broken face bone or a broken jaw. Something to do with that,” he told Sky Sports. “I didn’t feel like I lost the fight then, I didn’t feel like I lost the fight after watching it back. So it’s subjective to people’s opinions. Some people thought he won, some people thought I won. It was a close fight and that’s what happens in close fights I suppose. It could go either way.”
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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to lock horns again on December 21 with the Brit attempting to avenge his defeat by the Ukrainian in May. Victory for Fury could also set up a huge domestic showdown with bitter rival Anthony Joshua next year
He added: “He threw his best shots. He had 10 shots on target, all on target, never dropped me. So if he couldn’t drop me when I was on Bambi legs, God be with him this time. I think he had his best shots to get me out of there and didn’t do it. Hit me with your best shot, I looked back at him and smiled and he’s going to feel the wrath and the menace this time, I’ve got a point to prove.”
Fury has also recently revealed that his plan is to secure a knockout in a bid to avoid going the distance. “I’m going to go in there with destroy mode,” he said in an interview with Undisputed. “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. 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.”
