Oleksandr Usyk's sparring partners for Tyson Fury fight include unknown Brit

16 January 2024 , 12:39

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Oleksandr Usyk's sparring partners for Tyson Fury fight include unknown Brit

Oleksandr Usyk 's five sparring partners for his undisputed world title fight against Tyson Fury have been revealed.

Usyk is just over a month away from his fight against fellow heavyweight world champion Fury in Saudi Arabia. Their fight will crown the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. Little has been heard from both men in recent weeks as they are deep in training camp, as Fury flew out to the Middle East on New Year's Eve in a bid to knuckle down until the fight.

Fury was sent a warning by the first of Usyk's sparring partners last week, 6'8" Serbian heavyweight Sanel Hasanovic. The 25-year-old has a record of 7-1-1 with six knockouts and made his professional debut in 2018. "After some serious sparring, I believe you will emerge victorious in the fight against Tyson Fury," he wrote to Usyk after their spar.

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And after using his Ready To Fight platform to recruit sparring partners, Usyk called on German heavyweight Emmanuel Odiase who might have a record of 1-0, but is far from new to the professional scene. Odiase has previously been brought in as a sparring partner by the likes of Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora. He worked with Usyk before the Ukrainian's last fight against Daniel Dubois so it's no surprise Odiase has been back working with him again for the Fury fight.

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The third of Usyk's sparring partners is a Ukrainian heavyweight called Vladimir Katsuk, who has a record of 5-1. Katsuk helped Wladimir Klitschko train for past fights and was also one of Robert Helenius' main sparring partners for his fight against Wilder. The 35-year-old, who made his professional debut in 2019, suffered his first loss last October but was back in the win column a month later.

Mariusz Wach is the most experienced of Usyk's sparring partners as he once challenged for the unified heavyweight world titles against Klitschko but lost on points. The 44-year-old failed to reach world level after almost two decades in the ring, with notable losses to the likes of Dillian Whyte, Hughie Fury and Martin Bakole.

The last of Usyk's training partners is unknown British heavyweight Darren Sealy, who lost his professional debut last year in a huge upset to journeyman Phil Williams. Sealy trained with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou for his fight against Fury and is now working with Usyk for his clash with the Brit.

Harry Davies