Tyson Fury warns weight plan for Oleksandr Usyk rematch will ‘backfire’ | Boxing | Sport

British boxing icon Duke McKenzie has cast doubt on Tyson Fury’s strengthening strategy for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk, suggesting it could benefit the Ukrainian. The ‘Gypsy King’ is in the final stages of preparations for his highly anticipated second fight, aiming to avenge his first professional loss to Usyk, which he suffered by split decision in Riyadh last May.

The two giants will face each other in the ring again on December 21 and last month Fury announced his intention to target a knockout victory in their Christmas showdown.

In a recent interview discussing the upcoming boxing video game ‘Undisputed’, Fury was asked about his preferred fighting tactic (keeping distance or fighting close). He replied: “I don’t know. Horses for courses, right? It all depends on what I have to do at night.”

He elaborated on his approach: “I had to get Wilder out of there, or he got me out of there, and that’s the type of fight it was supposed to be. It had to be a 50/50 gunfight, the biggest puncher in history. Otherwise, he would have called me out in the ninth round. Same thing going into the rematch with Usyk.” It will happen, it’s either you or me… the best step forward and I’ve never been afraid to drift away, I’ve always risked it.”

He said: “There’s no secret! I’m going there to knock you out because no matter what I do I don’t think I’ll get a decision. It’s a boxing decision so I’ll have to take it out of the referees’ hands like I did in America at the time and I’ll have to get him (Usyk) out of there to see victory.” I went there.”

Latest images ahead of the highly anticipated rematch show that Tyson Fury is strengthening as he aims to achieve a decisive result next month. The two-time heavyweight world champion recorded a heavy weight of 262lb in his last bouts; this was 30lb more than Usyk.

Despite rating his previous performance a perfect 10/10, the British fighter argued it did not showcase the ‘true Gypsy King’. Fury shared his feelings instagram Last month, he posted a photo from before his loss in May, explaining: “It’s been the shape of my life, but it’s not GK (Gypsy King).” This was accompanied by another photo from his second match against Deontay Wilder; the caption read, “This is him, 19st 11lbs, bruise.” it said.

But McKenzie, Britain’s first three-weight world champion, expressed his doubts about Fury’s rematch strategy on talkSPORT’s podcast: “He (Fury) doesn’t live, he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t walk, he doesn’t talk sport but that’s what you’re supposed to be like Fights in between, fights in between “We know that Fury explodes, gains weight between fights, and then has to shed all that weight again. Now they’re trying to tell us that Fury is going to be bigger and better.”

McKenzie believes Fury’s weight gain plan won’t be effective against Usyk, saying: “Bigger and better, he’s not going to beat Usyk. Actually, he doesn’t. If he gains more weight and thinks to himself, ‘I’m going to bully’ Usyk.” This time I’m going to go in and take him down, I’ll be able to take his shots because I’m a lot bigger, that’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.”

McKenzie confidently predicts Usyk will win the rematch, saying: “Usyk has been winning the rematch all day, I can’t understand how Tyson Fury beat him. He’s not going to knock Usyk out. This guy is undefeated, so you have to look.” Are there any cracks in his armor? Did this guy’s engine break down? Does he have to get off the ground to win fights? “He doesn’t have to do any of this, he’s never shown any vulnerability.”