Tyson Fury claims he was in the “shape of his life” for his defeat by Oleksandr Usyk but looks set to pile on the weight for their second meeting in December
Tyson Fury has suggested he will weigh almost 20stone for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk will resume their rivalry on December 21 in Saudi Arabia, seven months after the Ukrainian inflicted a first professional defeat on Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion. And although Fury claims he was in the best shape of his life in May, he has hinted he will pile on the pounds for the second fight with Usyk.
Posting a photo to social media of himself before losing to Usyk, Fury added a caption saying: “Was in the shape of my life, but this is not the Gypsy King”. He followed that with a photo from a previous fight, with the caption: “This is him, 19st11lb, bruiser.” Should he replicate that weight in December, Fury would have added 15lb since he lost to Usyk, and could mean he has a 50lb weight advantage over his rival.
This would marry with Fury’s plan to knock out his rival after he claimed there is no way he can win on points. “I’m going to go in there with destroy mode,” Fury 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,” Fury explained. “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.”
Meanwhile, Fury was left baffled after being compared to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. Last week, Fury took aim at his opponent on social media, and although Usyk was muted in his response, his team compared Fury to Putin, saying: “Sounds like Putin, if you are not with me f*** you, and it means you against me,” Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas said on Twitter. “You pal, f*** you back!!!”
Fury was ringside in Liverpool on Saturday to watch local hero Nick Ball defend his featherweight title, and told Queensberry Promotions: “I know his team are a little bit upset, they’ve even compared me to Vladimir Putin today. I’m not sure why. But I’ve been listening to Tupac so Egis, f*** you, f*** your team, f*** Usyk, f**k Alex [Krassyuk] and if you’re down with Usyk well f*** you too.”
