Oleksandr Usyk’s warning about his change of tactics may unsettle Tyson Fury
Oleksandr Usyk has issued a warning to Tyson Fury ahead of their much-anticipated fight next Saturday, with the Ukrainian ready to show no mercy to the Englishman.
Usyk has said that he will not be giving Fury the same treatment as Anthony Joshua, who lost to Usyk but was spared a knockout blow.
The two did battle in May and Usyk handed the Gypsy King the first defeat of his professional boxing career. It came via split decision after 12 gruelling rounds, and it made Usyk the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
No mercy from Usyk
Fury and Usyk will be at it again in Saudi Arabia on December 21 and the pressure will all be on Fury to make sure he is not defeated again.
Usyk is known for showing a huge amount of respect to his opponents, and he showed Joshua a lot of mercy in 2021 when he was clearly ahead in the scoring cards and opted not to punish the Brit any further, just keeping him at arms bay until the end.
Speaking about Usyk’s decision not to finish the job during that bout, promoter Alex Krassyuk explained: “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.
It seems that Usyk is not going to take the same approach against Fury, though, as he explained to 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,” he said.
