By: Sean Crose
“I’m going to dish out a whole lot of pain,” Tyson Fury said during the final press conference before his Saturday rematch against WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. “I’ve got nothing to say far from there’s going to be a lot of hurt and pain in this fight, you watch. That’s all I’ve got to say.” And that pretty much literally was all Fury had to say. After losing the first fight to Usyk by the slimmest of margins, the frequently bombastic Fury was far more serious on Thursday than he often is.
For his own part, Usyk played it cool, as he always does. Unlike Fury, the man has never presented himself as a showman. He is, in every sense of the world, entirely a professional. That doesn’t mean the guy isn’t willing to stand his ground, however. For after the conference, when the two fighters faced off before the camera, neither man stepped back. The two fighters, Usyk and Fury, literally stared at each other for ten minutes. There was no pushing, or muscling in. Nor were many words spoken. There was simply a psychological contest between two fighters, neither of whom was willing to give the other an edge.
The reason both men appeared as serious and determined as they did on Thursday is that theirs will be an exceedingly serious fight. Although the IBF title will not be at stake there’s little doubt that the winner of Saturday’s battle will be the king of the heavyweight division (at least, perhaps, until there’s a third fight). Fury, for one, seems to be under no illusion of what kind of challenge he’ll be facing this weekend. Although he claims he felt he won the first fight with Usyk back in May, there’s no question that Usyk was the biggest challenge this very big heavyweight has ever faced in his life.
As for Usyk, he’s clearly looking to erase any question marks regarding how dominant he truly is. Although Daniel Dubois certainly gave Usyk a run for his money in the summer of 2023, Fury always made it difficult for Usyk to run away with their fight. Fury kept things close all the way until the final bell. Fury doesn’t want the match to go to the cards this time. It’s likely Usyk doesn’t either. When you’re engaged in the kind of high caliber fight Saturday promises to be, though, you take your victories any way you can.