‘The Gypsy King’ fell to the first defeat of his professional career when he squared off with Usyk in May and they are now set to run it back on December 21.

Fury believes he lost their inaugural encounter by ‘taunting too much’ and has promised a far more aggressive approach to the rematch.

In order to achieve that, the Mancunian is piling on the timber and looks very bulky in recent images from his camp.

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According to talkSPORT boxing pundit Gareth A Davies, Fury is aiming to come in around the 19 stone 7lbs mark (273lbs) – almost a stone heavier than he was for their first fight (18 st 10lbs/262lbs).

“When Tyson beat Klitschko nine years ago he was a 27-year-old, very light on his feet, he bamboozled opponents with those telescopic arms, his movement and tying fighters up,” said Davies on talkSPORT Fight Night on Saturday evening.

“That version went away in the three fights with Deontay Wilder, certainly the second and third fights where he became a bigger hitter at 19 and a half stone.

“I’m told internally from his camp that is where they intend him to be for Usyk in this fight, 19 and a half stone.”

Fury stepped on the scales at 18st 4.5lbs (256.5lbs) for his first meeting with Deontay Wilder in 2018 and boxed to a draw off the back foot in a fight that saw him taste the canvas on two occasions.

When they fought again 18 months later, Fury packed on 17lbs (273lbs/19st 7lbs) to pile on the pressure and return the favour by decking Wilder twice en route to a seventh-round stoppage win.

Fury then came in another 4lbs heavier (277lbs/19st 11lbs) for the trilogy and fought through early adversity to knock Wilder out in round ten.

Upping his weight and applying more front-foot pressure is a tried and tested adjustment that worked well for Fury against Wilder.

However, former three-weight world champion Duke McKenzie insists this gameplan will play right into Usyk’s hands.

“He [Fury] doesn’t live, eat, walk, talk the sport but you’re supposed to,” McKenzie told talkSPORT’s talkBOXING Podcast.

“In-between fights is where fights are won and lost. We know Fury blows up, puts on a load of weight between fights and then he has got to get rid of all that weight again.

“Now, they’re trying to tell us that Fury is going to be bigger and better.

“Bigger and better isn’t going to beat Usyk. It’s really not.

“If he puts on more weight and thinks to himself ‘I’m going to bully Usyk this time, I’m going to go in and walk him down, I’ll be able to take his shots because I’m that much bigger’, it’s not going to work for him.

“He’s going to be slower, he’s going to be more predictable, he’s going to get hit more and a lot sooner.

“Usyk wins the rematch all day long, I can’t see how Tyson Fury beats him. He’s not going to knock Usyk out.”

Former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury is geared to lock horns with former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for their blockbuster rematch. In the meantime, ‘The Gypsy King’ is offering all expenses paid free two VIP tickets to one lucky winner. 

The duo originally squared off against each other back in May earlier this year in what turned out to be one of the most exciting matchups of the year. Despite Fury’s several advantages, the Ukrainian southpaw bested the Englishman via split decision. Since then, their rematch has become one of the affairs most discussed in the sport.

Fury has announced that to grab VIP tickets, you’ll only need to spend $6 or £5—a surprisingly affordable price for an exclusive experience. “I am raffling off two VIP ringside tickets to the fight… Your flights and your hotel are on us… This is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime experience for any boxing fan,” Fury said in a clip shared on Instagram earlier today.

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Meanwhile, in the caption of the post, he wrote, “For just £5 entry!” But the question remains, how can you enter this giveaway? Fury provided a link for raffall[dot]com in his post, where fans can pay $6 or £5 to enter the raffle. It’s also worth mentioning that the raffle is ending on Sunday, 8th December at 12:30 or whenever the last ticket for the raffle sells out.

That said, if you’re thinking about placing a bet on the fight, a former world champion has weighed in with their prediction, offering some intriguing insights into how the bout might unfold.

Having suffered his first career loss last May, Fury has promised vengeance upon ‘The Cat’ in December, as he plans to secure a victory this time round. However, former British super bantamweight champion Duke McKenzie remains unconvinced by Fury’s efforts. He went as far as to call Fury’s approach to the rematch flawed, predicting another loss.

“In-between fights are where fights are won and lost. We know Fury blows up, puts on a load of weight, and then has got to get rid of all that weight again,” McKenzie said in a social media interview. He also criticized Fury’s plan to overpower Usyk with size, “Bigger and better isn’t going to beat Usyk. He’ll be slower, more predictable, and get hit more.” 

Declaring the Ukrainian unbeatable, McKenzie added, “Usyk wins the rematch all day long. I can’t see how Tyson Fury beats him.”

It seems Tyson Fury is aiming to cash in on a great opportunity while giving fans a chance to experience his highly anticipated fight against Oleksandr Usyk at a fraction of the usual cost. It’s a win-win: he gets to promote the event, and fans get a shot at an unforgettable experience.

Tyson Fury has named two important changes he can make to beat Oleksandr Usyk in the pair’s rematch.

Fury will look to avenge his first-ever professional boxing defeat when he faces Usyk for the second time in Saudi Arabia this Christmas.

‘The Gypsy King’ missed out on the opportunity to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999 when he lost in his historic meeting with the Ukrainian by split-decision.

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Usyk dropped Fury in the ninth round en route to victory as the latter stumbled all over the ring in both men’s bids to unite all four belts for the first time in 25 years.

“I don’t think I can be any better than what I did,” Fury said, speaking to Sky Sports.

“Because I think it was probably one of the best performances I’ve ever done in my life.

“Although I didn’t get the result, I thought it was a very fantastic performance against one of my best opponents.”

Fury will be the underdog in the pair’s December rematch and it will likely be tough to overturn his defeat against ‘The Cat’.

However, the 36-year-old Manchester native believes he did enough to overcome Usyk in their first bout and even had himself ahead on his own scorecard.

Many boxing fans called for the former two-time champion to make changes, especially to his corner where John Fury–his dad–joined Andy Lee and Sugar Hill Steward.

But Fury doesn’t seem to think there is much room for improvement following the first clash of titans.

“Can I be any better? Can I do any better?” he added.

“I can be more focused, and less clowning and I think that’s enough.

“Maybe if he chucked that punch he hit me 100 times and maybe not done any damage, but you know the one time it did and that’s all she wrote really.”

Fury was asked about his corner’s advice in a face-off with Usyk on TNT Sports, after the pair met in their October press conference.

He admitted that ‘people can have their opinions’ and talk however they like, but quite frankly ‘they’re not in there doing the fighting’.

Fury’s rematch with Usyk will not be for the undisputed titles after the latter was stripped of his IBF belt once he agreed to the fight

The winner of the clash could face Daniel Dubois next after he retained the IBF title in style by knocking out Anthony Joshua at Wembley in September.

Former world champion Billy Joe Saunders is a friend of Fury’s and recently told talkSPORT’s Jim White and Simon Jordan that the heavyweight great has a better game plan in place now.

“Listen, I’ve been keeping a close eye and I’ve been talking to his nutritionist Greg Marriot,” he told talkSPORT’s White & Jordan.

“His weight is looking good and his sparring is going well and he’s looking good.

“I think the game plan they’ve got now for this fight after speaking with Tyson the other day makes a lot more sense.

“It makes a hell of a lot more sense to me, the game plan last time was pickey-pokey and running around.

“It was about showing off in the ring and I think he was enjoying himself a bit too much.

“He let Usyk back in it, but this time I don’t think Usyk will get back in the fight if Tyson is up in the first six rounds this time.

“Definitely not.”

Oleksandr Usyk has the power, the pace and the plan to beat Tyson Fury, says Sky Sports boxing expert and former world champion Johnny Nelson…

You can tell Fury doesn’t like to play second fiddle to anybody. I’m quite sure this is a lot more personal now for Tyson Fury no matter how he tries to look at it, because now he’s come up against a guy that he can’t intimidate. He’s come up against a guy that just doesn’t give him anything.

Fury knows now it’s about all his skills, all his ability, experience and the fight that he’s got left inside him. That’s got to be enough because if it isn’t, it’s quite clear this fight will probably go shorter than the last fight did.

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Now Usyk’s tasted his strength, his speed, his pace once, he has a better measure of him.

Remember what he did with Anthony Joshua. Anthony Joshua tried the same tactics as Fury, tried to outbox him, outsmart him and then in the second fight, even though AJ’s performance was great, Usyk’s performance was better. It was more calculated and it will be the same here.

Now he has the measure of the man in Tyson Fury, he knows that Tyson Fury is probably going to try and jump on him. Use his strength, use his size, use his physicality, which is what he should have done in the first place and that’s what he needs to do now.

Tyson needs to make sure that, combined with his boxing ability, puts the pressure on him from the off. Because the longer the fight goes, there’s more chance of him not being able to maintain that constant pressure, that physical pace on Usyk. Whereas Usyk, what he said in the first fight was: I’m not going to leave you alone. I’ll make you work for your supper and that’s what he did.

Tyson Fury, 36, will need a flawless strategy from his trainer, SugarHill Steward, to secure a victory.

However, SugarHill appeared lost in the corner, with the rest of Fury’s team offering no solutions. Given the ineffective support Fury had in his corner, his chances in the rematch seem bleak. As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.”

Tyson Fury posted on his Instagram page saying that the three heavyweight titles Oleksandr Usyk holds will be “mine again” four weeks from now when they meet for their rematch on December 21st.

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“My rematches only end in one way,” posted Tyson Fury on his Instagram page.

Usyk exuded the cold, lethal presence of a hitman during the Usyk-Fury 2 face-off. His intense stare seemed to pierce through Fury, conveying the sense that Usyk has already figured him out.

Their upcoming fight on December 21st will pick up where their previous encounter left off, particularly echoing the infamous round nine from May 18th, when the referee intervened, pushing Usyk aside just as he was about to finish off a severely hurt Fury, who looked like a punching bag.

Rematches against Deontay Wilder, Dereck Chisora and John McDermott aren’t exactly murderer’s row types of competition, and those fights occurred many years ago when Fury was a lot younger than he is now. He appears to be in his mid-40s, and he’s going up against a much better fighter in Usyk than the three fighters he fought in rematches.

Tyson Fury claimed this week that he’s going to box Usyk this time and show the ability that he didn’t display in their previous fight. It looked like Fury was trying to box last May, but Usyk was too skilled and was able to hit him.

Again, we all saw how the referee saved Fury in the ninth round when he was out on his feet, taking nonstop punches and helpless to defend himself. The referee gave Fury a standing eight count, but most fans saw that as a case of the referee saving the popular fighter. There will be a different referee this time to save Fury’s hide.

“Four weeks to go for the biggest fight of the year, the biggest fight in boxing, me and Usyk. I’m coming in hot. I can’t wait. 21st of December, the belts are going to be mine again,” said Tyson Fury on Instagram.

“Four weeks to go,” Tyson Fury states on a recent video, “til the biggest fight of the year, the biggest fight in boxing, me and Usyk and I’m coming in hot.”

Looking directly at the camera, Fury emphasizes the fact that he will be well prepared for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st in Saudi Arabia. “I’m coming in HOT,” he yells. “Can’t wait. Twenty first of December, the belts are going to be mine again.” Judging by the brief clip, Fury isn’t lacking in confidence as the days count down to his second go round with chess master Usyk.

Of course Fury lost the first battle between the two men. It was a close fight, however, a very close fight. Still, the fact that Usyk hurt and nearly dropped the bigger Fury may have made all the difference on the judge’s cards. What makes the rematch particularly interesting is the fact it’s worth wondering which Fury will show up in the ring in December. While it’s true Fury has never had a poor performance, his defeat at the gloved hands of Usyk marked his first loss as a professional. Yet Fury is a man of numerous strategies.

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For instance, the first fight of the classic trilogy between Fury and Deontay Wilder ended in a draw. Fury changed his style for the second and third fights and ended up besting Wilder soundly on both occasions. One has to wonder whether or not Fury and trainer Sugar Hill Steward are employing a more aggressive strategy for the second match with Usyk. Not that Usyk won’t be prepared for anything Fury sends his way. Will he be prepared enough, though? Fury is a hard man to read, one who is often two steps ahead of his opponent in the ring.

Usyk, however, is one of the most skilled heavyweights to ever slip inside a ring. His footwork is second to none, his punch accuracy can be dead on, and – yes – he has enough power to rock his opponents. Just ask Fury. While he isn’t as physically big as opponents like Fury and Anthony Joshua, Usyk has bested both fighters, a very impressive feat for a man whose moved up to heavyweight from cruiserweight. Usyk is perhaps the man to prick the balloon of the super sized heavyweight era. Perhaps. He still has a very formidable opponent in Fury ahead of him. And it’s hard to tell whose going to win this rematch.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury had their roundtable discussion ahead of their December 21 rematch. 

Usyk beat Fury in the first fight to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. The scorecards had it as a split decision: 115-112, 113-114, 114-113. But in truth, Usyk had done more than enough to secure a unanimous decision win. He was the better fighter from the start and finished stronger, while Fury found success in the middle rounds. Tyson struggled to accept the loss, saying Usyk got the win due to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Even after having rewatched the fight, he felt he had done enough to get the decision. Since then, he has changed that view, saying Usyk was the better man. The pair rewatched the fight during their sit-down as they commented on various aspects. The two fighters showed respect to each other, with Fury departing from his vocal style, a sign perhaps that he was humbled in defeat. Another defeat to Usyk will increase the calls on him to retire, while the Ukrainian knows a win solidifies his position as the best heavyweight of this era. Here are the key comments during their interaction.

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Fury: “This round he was hurt [round six]. Watch these two big right uppercuts. You can’t tell me this never hurt him.”

Usyk: “yeah, of course, a good body shot. [But] I expected it. [No] I didn’t hurt me.”

Fury: “I don’t think when I’m in the fight. I just take it one round at a time. You know, we were both boxing really good. And sometimes you have success, and then sometimes you don’t. You know, nothing to worry about.”

Fury: “I’m a big believer in God. So I believe that God has a plan for everybody, and the plan was for Usyk to win this fight. And he did, so fair play.”

Fury: “Yeah, listen, people can have opinions. But at the end of the day, they’re not in there fighting. So it’s really not important what other people think of what was going on in my corner. If I’m happy, then the world’s happy, you know, and I’m happy.”

Fury: “It’s the World Heavyweight title fight, undisputed [so the fight should not have been stopped]. At least a man’s gotta go down to the floor and someone like me, who has been down loads of times, who gets back up, at least give me one chance.”

Usyk: :I don’t think about it [the stoppage]. [These are] big ifs.”

Fury: “He made a very valid point. I recover quite quickly. It’s a testament to my fitness and stamina, where I’ll be able to recover quick.”

Fury: “I knew it was a close fight. I thought I’d done enough, but listen, I don’t complain. He’s got the victory. I was happy for him. I congratulated him. [And] I was happy that we both went home to our family safe. My dad always said to me, if you lose a fight, son, shake the man’s hand.”

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