"Gypsy King" emotionally recalled the episode when the Ukrainian almost knocked him out.
Former world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury once again made a decisive statement before the rematch with the holder of the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO titles Oleksandr Usyk.
During a joint interview with the Ukrainian for DAZN Boxing, the Briton emotionally recalled the punch that Usyk used in their first fight that knocked him down and almost knocked him out.
Fury noted that Usyk, despite all his efforts, was unable to knock him down. The “Gypsy King” also threatened Alexander with violence in the rematch.
Host: What do you remember about that left punch in the ninth round?
Usyk: It was perfect. Tyson held on well.
Fury:But you had a small chance to knock me out, didn't you? You couldn't do it. You hit me 10 times and you couldn't do it.
Usyk: You had a chance too.
Fury: You couldn't even put me down after you had “Bambi legs”, you landed 10 punches, 10 clean punches to the chin, I didn't touch the canvas. You're finished in the rematch.
Usyk: Okay.
Fury:As Tupac said: “You hit me with your best punches, and you couldn't do a n***a. You know what's coming, I'm gonna kick your ass, bitch.”
The Usyk-Fury rematch will take place on December 21 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). All titles held by the Ukrainian boxer will be at stake.
Unlike the first fight, this time the title of absolute world champion will not be at stake, since Alexander had previously renounced the IBF title. Now it is in the hands of Daniel Dubois, who has already managed to defend it by knocking out Anthony Joshua.
Recall that on the night of May 19, 2024, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision in a fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion. At the end of the ninth round, Alexander knocked his opponent down.
Thus, Alexander defended the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF belts, and also took the WBC title from the “Gypsy King”. Usyk became the first absolute world champion in the heavyweight division in the 21st century.
Before that, the last “absolute” heavyweight champion was Lennox Lewis, who won this status in 1999, when he defeated Evander Holyfield. At that time, the WBA, WBC and IBF titles were at stake. The WBO belt was recognized as equal in 2007, so Usyk became the first “absolute” heavyweight champion in history with four main titles.
