Tyson Fury is less than a month away from the biggest fight of his storied career – that huge heavyweight title unification showdown vs Oleksandr Usyk.
‘The Gypsy King’ (34-0-1) has been silent in recent weeks as he puts full focus on trying to hand the brilliant Ukrainian (21-0) a first ever career defeat when they meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Latest Heavyweight Rankings: Top 10 ahead of Fury vs Usyk
Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has been providing some detail at least about his man’s preparation, including some of the names Tyson is sparring with.
They include in particular a certain Queensberry heavyweight prodigy who Warren recently predicted would be the ‘next big thing’ in the division – 19-year-old Moses Itauma.
Warren on Fury sparring partners
Warren, speaking on Queensberry’s YouTube channel, said: “He’s sparring with the guys. They’ve been very tight-lipped about what’s going on in the camp to people. Moses is out there, Moses Itauma, our young heavyweight – he’s a southpaw also – is out there working with him
“He’s [Fury] working hard. As far as I know he’s working very hard and we’ll see what happens on the night. I’m really really looking forward to the fight, it’s gonna be quite an interesting fight – especially after both of the boxers’ last two performances.”
Fury’s last performance of course was that disputed split decision win over professional boxing novice Francis Ngannou back in October. He was down early in the fight before clawing his way back to remain unbeaten and grab the victory on the scorecards.
Fury vs Ngannou verdict
While Fury came in for significant criticism for that showing, Warren said there were multiple factors at play – most of all that Ngannou’s boxing ability on debut came as a huge surprise to all. He was the most unknown of quantities.
“Tyson to be quiet honest wasn’t himself that night. He had a good training camp but he still wasn’t himself. Ngannou showed what he was all about. He comes from a fighting background, he’s got a fighting heart. And he didn’t give up.
Ben Davison on Fury vs Ngannou, and Usyk vs Joshua 3
“For a guy who was having his first fight in a boxing ring, it was unbelievable. I looked at him and thought ‘how would you have liked to have got hold of him when he was younger and turned him over as a professional boxer rather than UFC’. He’d have probably done something extra special.”
Fury vs Usyk: What is at stake?
Quite simply, everything from a heavyweight boxing perspective. All of the title belts – every single one.
Usyk is the reigning IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring magazine king, while Fury is the WBC and lineal champion. Every single one of their titles will be on the line in Riyadh on February 17.
