Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will do battle once again on Saturday night, with the Ukrainian vowing to go for the knockout in his blockbuster heavyweight title rematch with the ‘Gypsy King’
Tyson Fury has been given a stern notice from Oleksandr Usyk: the Ukrainian will not be as forgiving as he was with Anthony Joshua.
The heavyweight champion, boasting an immaculate 22-0 record with 14 KOs, has made it clear he’s aiming for the finish in their upcoming rematch. Having dished out a history-making split decision defeat on the ‘Gypsy King’ back in May to claim the undisputed heavyweight crown – a first since Lennox Lewis in 1999 – the fighters are gearing up for their highly anticipated sequel at Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Arena just days before Christmas.
Fury is set on redemption following his setback in the same venue earlier this year. Despite his formidable record, Usyk has displayed commendable sportsmanship toward his adversaries, as seen in his leniency with Joshua during the tail end of their initial fight in 2021.
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Ahead on the scorecards and with Joshua in trouble, Usyk chose discretion over destruction, opting not to press harder in the final moments. Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, detailed the champ’s outlook, saying: “When he comes to the ring, it’s Oleksandr’s profession, so he has to fight, and he has to win but he doesn’t have to hate his opponent. He loves his opponent. He respects him.
“With a full heart of love, he hits him according to the rules, but he doesn’t feel this anger. He doesn’t feel like he’s doing damage. His objective is to win, and the less damage he does to his opponent the better. This is his philosophy. That’s why he did not knock out Anthony Joshua in the twelfth round,” reports the Mirror.
“He said I’m winning on points. Why should his kids watch his father falling on the ring when enough is done to get the victory? That’s his mindset.” However, the Ukrainian boxer has vowed that he will not go easy on Fury in their rematch.
He told Mail Sport: “Against Fury, it wasn’t me who decided this – it was the heavenly virtues who decided this was the way I would win [decision not KO]. But, if I have an opportunity to knock out Tyson Fury in the rematch, I will take it.”
Usyk defeated Joshua in 2021 to become the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion. He then defended his belts against Joshua again in 2022. He knocked out Daniel Dubois in August 2023 before becoming the undisputed champion by beating Fury in May this year for his WBC belt.
However, he vacated the IBF belt shortly after to set up a lucrative rematch with Fury. Since then, Dubois has unified his interim IBF belt by defeating Joshua in a fifth-round knockout last September. However, with Fury and Usyk rumored to be planning a third fight in 2025, it might be a while before we see ‘DDD’ get his shot at undisputed greatness.
