Tyson Fury has been a relaxed presence for most of the build to his title rematch against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Understandably, his focus has been on the task at hand.
But Tuesday on Uncrowned and DAZN’s “Ariel x Ade” show, the old Fury showed himself, if only for a moment.
“Just for the record, I’m going to absolutely annihilate this motherf***er on Saturday night,” Fury insisted. “No retirement, I’m cleaning them all out — and he’s going to be first. Rabbit’s face.”
The promotion for the WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight title rematch has been more subdued than Usyk and Fury’s first fight in May. Both boxers gave reserved responses at their launch press conference in October, and there has been very little, if any, back-and-forth between the pair in the lead-up.
That could be because Usyk and Fury are fully locked in on their second meeting. There’s no rematch clause this time around, so whoever loses may never get another shot at heavyweight gold.
Usyk edged a split decision over Fury in May to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 and the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the current four-belt era.
“He wasn’t any different to what I thought he would be,” Fury said of Usyk’s performance. “Easier to hit.”
Fury enters the rematch as a +125 betting underdog. While some boxers are motivated by being the underdog as they feel they are being overlooked, Fury said Tuesday that his role as a betting outsider doesn’t play any part in his thought process and he doesn’t “feel any pressure at all.”
After winning Olympic gold in 2012, Usyk has gone on to become a two-division undisputed champion, while Fury has also held every belt at heavyweight at one point or another. Both have reached the pinnacle of the sport, which has led to speculation that Usyk and Fury may both retire after their rematch, although many fans would still like to see Fury and Anthony Joshua share the ring.
“I’ve tried to walk away many times and been unsuccessful,” Fury admitted. “I meant it when I retired after Dillian Whyte in 2022. I really meant that wholeheartedly. I could’ve put my hands on a Bible and meant it, but it was difficult to let it go. I’m not sure if I can ever let it go.”
A win on Saturday for Fury could give him a claim to be the best heavyweight of his generation, but he insisted it wouldn’t eclipse his victories outside of the ring.
“I don’t think boxing as a thing is ever my biggest victory,” Fury said. “I’ve come back from suicide. I’ve come back from the depths of despair.
“So yeah, to go in there and get paid a ton of money to do a boxing match with some clown or whatever they might be, boxers — it’s child’s play compared to what I’ve had to go through. This boxing for me is games compared to what I’ve had to come through.”
Usyk, similar to Fury, said Tuesday on “Ariel x Ade” that he’ll find it very difficult to walk away from boxing, even after achieving everything he could’ve possibly achieved in the sport.
“It’s my life,” Usyk said of boxing. “When I go to ring, it’s [the] only place where I feel myself, [I feel] very good. I cannot say what I feel now, good, but [the] ring is [my] home. It’s [a] special place for me.”
“There are many times [when] I wanted to give up, where I came home crying in my pillows. But then I wake up, I go to the mirror, and I say to myself, ‘You should keep going. You should be a man and just do it. Do it more and more.'”
Usyk and Fury collide for three belts on Saturday instead of the four they fought for in the first fight. The Ukrainian was forced to give up his IBF championship immediately after the bout because of an outstanding mandatory obligation, which he could not fulfill due to his contracted rematch with Fury.
That IBF belt is now held by Daniel Dubois, who Usyk knocked out in the ninth round in August 2023.
“[The first fight for] undisputed [was] a bigger fight,” Usyk acknowledged, “but now it’s [a] rematch. But I know [this time] I will be different, Tyson too. Tyson [is very motivated], I’m [very motivated too].”
Usyk is arguably the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing. That argument will only be strengthened if he defeats an opponent of Fury’s caliber for a second time, but it’s not an argument he agrees with.
“For me, [the] pound-for-pound No. 1 is Terence Crawford,” Usyk said. “I like this man, [a] great fighter. [Terribly] tough boxer.”
“For me, I may be [pound-for-pound] No. 17,” he joked.
Usyk was emotional after his first win over Fury to become undisputed champion. Those emotions, he said, came from disappointment that his late father couldn’t watch him become heavyweight king.
“I was sad [that] this fight [was not watched by and lived] with my father,” Usyk said, growing emotional again. “[If he was there, I would’ve said,] ‘Hey, we [did] it, father.'”
Usyk and Fury waged a war of words for nearly two years, from the time when Usyk beat Joshua in their 2022 rematch until he and Fury finally shared the ring in May. Now, though, Usyk said he has the utmost respect for Fury and believes the Brit is the best opponent he’s ever faced.
“I think yes, now,” Usyk acknowledged when asked if Fury was the best he’d ever share the ring with. “Good [size], good skills, mind like a snake.
“[The] first time, [it was a] hard opponent. Great boxer, father, husband, and I have respect for Tyson Fury.”
