The mind games are continuing right up until the end.
WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) hit the mitts from the orthodox stance at an open workout on Wednesday three days out from his unification bout against WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Britain’s Fury, 35, followed suit, boxing from the southpaw stance during his time in the ring. Ukrainian Usyk, 37, is a natural lefty, while Fury traditionally boxes as a righty.
Art of war. Deception.
Both boxers kept their cards close to their chests when they spoke to the media after the joint event.
“I’m on top of the world, baby! Who wouldn’t be enjoying it?” said Fury.
“I’m in the great Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is the main event. It is the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world… we’re looking forward to putting on a fantastic show for the world to watch.”
Usyk said: “I feel good. Each event brings with it a new experience. It’s always a wonderful, great, and new experience for the team. I don’t have a final message for him. I will save it for Saturday.”
Fury appears to be in much better physical shape for this bout than he was his last outing when he had to climb off the canvas to defeat former UFC heavyweight champion and boxing debutant Francis Ngannou 0-2 via split decision in their 10-round non-title bout in Saudi Arabia last October.
Usyk, meanwhile, has been riding high since his back-to-back world title wins against Anthony Joshua 28-3 (25) in 2021 and 2022. He backed up this performance with a ninth-round knockout of Damiel Dubois 20-2 (19) in Poland last August.
But Fury’s promoter Frank Warren believes his boxer will present a much more difficult problem to solve for Usyk than Joshua did across 24 rounds.
“Look, Usyk’s done everything he can do,” the Queensberry Promotions boss told talkSPORT.
“And you think about him against AJ twice. AJ had a longer reach, much longer man, but Usyk actually out-jabbed him.
“The difference is though with Tyson – he will stand and he will jab with you.
“If he’s receiving a punch and getting a jab, he’s not gonna back off, he’ll do it with you.
“And I think that is the difference between AJ and Tyson. Tyson will stick to his game plan and I think he will use his advantages like his reach.
“The game plan will be to put Usyk on the back foot – take centre of the ring, command the ring, put him on the back foot and break him down. I genuinely believe he’ll do that.”
In an earlier interview with Sky Sports, Fury promised victory.
“Why will I win? Because it’s what I do. I win, win, win no matter what. I’ve always won,” said Fury, who is also facing an undefeated fighter.
“What I deliver is victories. Whether it’s by an inch or a mile, I deliver every time. Sixteen years as a pro, I’ve been delivering my whole life. They should call me the midwife because I always deliver.”
