Tyson Fury’s body transformation for Oleksandr Usyk fight surprises boxing fans
Tyson Fury is in the midst of his preparations for his highly-anticipated rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, and fans have shared how surprised they are by the Gypsy King’s heavier than usual physique
Tyson Fury has left boxing fans stunned by his physique with his December 21 rematch against Oleksandr Usyk fast approaching.
Their first encounter in May ended with Usyk taking the win by a split decision, marking Fury’s first professional defeat and making Usyk, 37, the first since Lennox Lewis to unify the heavyweight titles by claiming Fury’s WBC belt. Usyk’s undisputed reign didn’t last long, however, relinquishing the IBF belt in June after choosing to give Fury an instant rematch rather than facing number one contender Daniel Dubois.
With less than a fortnight to go until Fury and Usyk meet at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, both men have been training incredibly hard in camp to bring the best version of themselves. However, a recent snap shared by Fury, 36, may not have gone down as intended, leaving many questioning whether he is in the best shape for arguably the biggest fight of his career.
Taking to Instagram, the Gypsy King wrote: “Working my a** off to regain the championship,” while sharing a snap of himself in the gym, alongside Fernely Feliz Jr, Alexis Barriere, Aleksei Dronov and SugarHill Steward. But fans were quick to comment how Fury looked old and weathered in the snap, with alarm bells ringing pertaining to his fitness headed into the rematch of the decade.
The Daily Express report how one person wrote: “He looks old there,” while another added: “Bro looks 47”. A third said: “Doesn’t (look) near as good as the previous fight and he lost that so I’m worried,” while a fourth claimed: “Fury ballooning up and down in weight down the years maybe has caught up with him, if Fury’s damaged goods he took a lot of punishment first fight. Flip-side on paper there’s still a massive size advantage for Fury if he can make it count.”
Others, however, were quick to praise Fury headed into the bout – holding the utmost confidence that the 34-1-1 pugilist will have payback for the sole loss on his record to date. One fan wrote: “Bring it home Champ,” while another added: “Ruin him Tyson, can’t wait for this. Back to your best, looking great.”
A third added: “Nearly there peaking perfectly we have 1 more week of hard work to go,” while a fourth went on: “Take back what’s yours Tyson.”
It comes as Fury admitted in November that someone of his size and stature should not be able to move in the boxing ring the way that he does, explaining that his game plan for the rematch is similar to that he put on display in his first encounter with Usyk.
Speaking in a face-to-face with his opponent on TNT Sports, Fury admitted: “Someone of my size and heaviness, it’s not normal that I should be able to box, and move, and slop – so why would I take that away from my game? I wouldn’t. People say to me ‘walk forward on Usyk, walk him down and hit him, yeah?’
“Well, if it was so easy to do that, why didn’t [Anthony] Joshua do it who’s a big, strong man who fights like this? Why didn’t Dubois do it who also fights like this? Them men are limited compared to me, very limited. So a man who walks forward like this to him, it’s Christmas time come early.”
He added: “I’m a side-on boxer, slipping, sliding, uppercutting, hooking. So I’m going to do that but more focus, not so much this [taunting]. Little bit more focused on my job and I think that’s my way to victory.”
