By: Sean Crose
“I’ve not spoke to Paris in three months,” former heavyweight titlist Tyson Fury recently told TNT Sports in an interview. “Not a word.” Paris, for those who don’t know, is Fury’s wife, as well as the mother of his children. “I don’t miss ’em,”Fury said of his family, claiming that – although he loves his family – he’s made himself able to separate the boxing life from family life. And, with his rematch with titlist Oleksandr Usyk going down this Saturday, the focus has to be on the sweet science. Of course, Fury has said surprising things before and it’s sometimes hard to tell how serious the man is regarding some of the things he says.
Still, there’s no doubt that Fury looks serious in the interview. The jokey Fury that fans and the media are often apt to see is largely gone, replaced by an intense, full bearded, focused professional. “Me mission has never been to be undisputed,” he says. “Never been my mission. It’s been other people’s missions. My mission is to smash this f—–g face right in on Saturday night. There’s no chance he can beat me. None. I ain’t got a cut this time I’m nursing…I’ve never been as confident in my life of smashing a f—-r’s face in.”
Tough talk. “I’m going to destroy this f—-r on Saturday night,” Fury continues. “You watch. Watch me go to work on Saturday night.” Fury goes on to make it clear he feels he won the first fight with Usyk, even though the judge’s awarded Usyk the victory. Without doubt, it was a close battle. Fury promises to deliver a decisive victory on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia. “What I’m going to do to him,” Fury said of Usyk, “he won’t want a trilogy.”
This rematch this weekend is well worth looking forward to. Although the undisputed heavyweight championship won’t be on the line as it was for the first Fury-Usyk fight, Usyk’s multiple world titles will be at stake. Not only that, these two fighters are so evenly matched that it’s hard to pick a winner. The first battle between the two men, after all, was extremely close. Win, lose or draw, however, Fury makes it clear in the video that he intends to remain in the fight game nonmatter what.
“Not in a million years will I walk away after this,” he said when asked about retirement.