Oleksandr Usyk has spent nine years preparing for huge Tyson Fury fight

27 January 2024 , 08:00

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Oleksandr Usyk has spent nine years preparing for huge Tyson Fury fight

Oleksandr Usyk has been training for a Tyson Fury fight ever since the Brit defeated his countryman Wladimir Klitschko.

Fury dethroned longtime unified heavyweight world champion Klitschko in a huge upset back in 2015 and Usyk has been looking to avenge his good friend's loss ever since. Almost a decade later, Usyk will now get that chance as he and Fury meet for the undisputed world titles on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.

“I’ve been preparing for this fight for a few years now, since he beat Wladimir. He didn’t know about me back then because I wasn’t famous in the world of boxing, but I have been preparing for him and Anthony Joshua from the very beginning. Since I started professional boxing," Usyk said.

Who wins the undisputed fight - Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below

Fury was expected to defend his world titles against Klitschko the year after beating him but the Brit scuppered plans of their rematch by failing drugs test. Fury battled extreme weight gain and mental health issues during his three years away from the ring but became a world champion again by knocking out Deontay Wilder in 2020.

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“It’s a technical fight and it’s fight of heart. It’s the most important fight of my sports career and the most and my sporting life. People want to see this, they want to see Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in the ring to be undisputed champion and we need to give people this because they deserve this," Usyk added.

Usyk controversially defended his unified belts against Daniel Dubois last August in a fight that was overshadowed by a low blow from the Brit. Fury is hoping to put on a better performance against Usyk than in his last fight as he was dropped by former UFC champion Francis Ngannou and only won by a single point in a scrutinised decision.

"He's an average sized man, 6'3" and 16 stone," Fury said of Usyk. "He's the same build as every other heavyweight that you're mostly going to fight. He's a left-handed man, my dad is left handed and I've got a brother that's left-handed. It's not like I'm not used to fighting people who are left-handed. It is what it is, we are going to go in there and punch the s*** out of each other."

Harry Davies