Will Oleksandr Usyk make it 2-0 against Tyson Fury or can ‘The Gypsy King’ equal the score at 1-1; that question will be answered in less than 36 hours’ time.
What we do know is that Tyson Fury is coming into the heavyweight rematch fitter and less-vulnerable than he did last time – especially now that he doesn’t have to worry about recent cuts being reopened.
Tyson Fury was fighting through a ‘$10 million bounty’ in first fight with Usyk
The first fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk was a razor-close affair and as that rematch looms large, trainer Andy Lee is keen to remind fans how that wasn’t ‘The Gypsy King’ at 100%.
“Fights are won and lost in the ring, but a lot has to do with what happens in the buildup, in training camp, and how you prepare,” Lee told DAZN Boxing: “People seem to forget that there was this $10 million put on Tyson’s eye.
“When they announced that the [first] fight was postponed, there was this deal where if anyone pulled out of the rearranged fight, they would have to pay $10 million from their purse.
“And that was really taken into consideration, and because he had the cut, he wasn’t able to spar or prepare in the way that he should have, and that affected him in the [first] fight.”
Fury suffered a nasty laceration to his eye in the final week of training for their first fight, resulting in the bout being postponed by three months, which Lee claims impacted his mindset far more than fans realize.
“Going into fights with cuts, it’s something where you are trying to fool yourself and trying to convince yourself that it’s not a weakness – but it’s there, somewhere in your subconscious you know that one punch could change this, one punch could change this… And you are always conscious of that vulnerability.”
According to the former professional boxer-turned-trainer, Fury himself has also stated that he’ll enter the ring on December 21 fully focused on earning revenge; now there’s no major injury to concern himself with.
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“He says ‘Andy that was a close fight, I gave it a good go, wasn’t fit, had a bounty on my eye, couldn’t train properly – come the rematch, I’ll be 50% better on a full camp, and I’ll destroy him.’”
Andy Lee predicts a masterclass from ‘The Gypsy King’ in the rematch
Due to the cut’s location and the timing of the injury, Tyson Fury wasn’t able to train or spar to the fullest extent for Oleksandr Usyk the first time around; now, ‘The Gypsy King’ is fitter and more prepared than ever.
“To win the rematch, Tyson will need to be fitter – which he will be. Have better conditioning – which he will have… I feel like Tyson will be able to take his moments, and continue to engage, sustain the attacks because he’ll be fitter and more conditioned.
“Keys to victory for Tyson in the rematch is to be fitter, stronger and very important, to be heavier. He was under 19 stone for that fight and that was his plan, but Tyson’s always been at his best when he’s around 19 stone 12lbs.”
Tyson Fury told Sky Sports Boxing earlier this week that he was weighing around 20 stone, with the official weigh-ins set to take place in a few hours’ time.
“I think he’ll be heavier in the rematch; he’ll be more dominant in the rematch, [and] he’ll impose his size a lot more in the rematch,” continued Lee.
“And like I said, it’s very hard to go into a fight with a cut on your eye… He’s coming back to right the wrong and redeem himself.”
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 goes down live from Riyadh on Saturday, December 21.