Tyson Fury raged at Oleksandr Usyk in what was a heated final face-off during the weigh-ins for their colossal undisputed heavyweight showdown on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.
The Gypsy King, who has been hailed recently for his incredible body transformation ahead of this bout, weighed in 29lbs (two stone) heavier than his opponent, at 262lbs, with Usyk weighing in at 233.5lbs – the heaviest weight he has recorded in his career.
But tempers flared after both fighters had stepped off the scales, with the pair squaring off by butting heads on stage. A fracas broke subsequently broke out with Fury appearing to push Usyk away from him, before the pair were pulled away by their respective teams.
After the mele had died down, Fury raged to a DAZN reporter, shouting: ‘I’m coming for his heart. F*** his belts, I’m coming for his f***ing heart. I’m going to knock him spark out.’
‘F*** all his team, fuck the lot of them! They can all get it if they want to. S***houses!’
The Gypsy King was also asked by a reporter what he was thinking after the face off. He said to a reporter from DAZN: ‘I’m ready to rock and roll tonight, I’m going to knock this little f***er spark out.’
Usyk, conversely was much calmer, delivering a final message to Fury ahead of the bout.
Speaking to a reporter the 36-year-old said: ‘Don’t be afraid I will not leave you alone tomorrow.’
He also revealed the advice his father would have given him ahead of the figth, stating: ‘Son, you can [do it].
‘It’s my plan. If I will be nervous, I will not win.’
‘My fans – I love you! See you tomorrow,’ he added.
Usyk had arrived at the arena first and was in an excellent mood as he jumped up and down dancing while he made his way to the stage.
The Manchester-born fighter followed him in next, wearing a pair of navy sweat pants a hat and no top. He too looked pumped as he punched the air with his hands on the way to the stage.
Fury and Usyk sat down at a press conference on Thursday in Saudi Arabia, with Fury refusing to face-off against Usyk, folding his arms and staring out towards the audience inside the arena as the Ukrainain stared him down.
When asked why he didn’t face off against Usyk, Fury had told Sky Sports, ‘He’s a scary looking dude.’
He added: ‘I’m just here to relax now and wait until I get into the ring on Saturday night. All the talking is done, all the interviewing is done. I’m really relaxed and focused.’
Usyk said: ‘Let’s make history. Enough.’
Ahead of their weigh in, Joseph Parker said to TNT Sports: ‘He’s just a lot more confident in this fight and that alsocomes down to his work and the team that he has had in his camp. The sparring is the most important part leading into this fight.’
He added: ‘The advantage for Tyson is his size and reach and I think he has to use that advantage, I know he has lost a lot of weight but he is still a big man.’
Parker added: ‘Usyk though is crafty and is phenomenal.’
Carl Frampton also gave his verdict on how Fury can use his physical attributes to beat Usyk ahead of their weigh in.
‘There’s a lot more to him though people are just saying Tyson Fury is too big and too strong but all the other attributes, his height, reach and the weight,’he said to TNT Sports.
‘There’s a lot more to Tyson Fury than just being a big man.’
Fury has recently been hailed by many for his recent body transformation ahead Saturday’s fight, with the WBC heavyweight cutting a much leaner physique.
After months of build up, Fury seems to have been working very hard in the gym and his strength and conditioning coach, Kristian Blacklock, previously claimed before the fight was postponed that the Gypsy King is in the ‘best shape of his life’.
He said: ‘As a team we had Tyson Fury in the best shape of his life as we quietly worked away, stronger, leaner but we will be ready when the fight is rearranged.’
His strength and conditioning coach has claimed that Fury is ‘stronger and leaner’ now
Tyson Fury shared his phenomenal body transformation on social media after his undisputed title clash with Oleksandr Usyk was postponed
Fury has been praised for his training regime and physical conditioning ahead of his fight
The Gypsy King’s S&C coach Kristian Blacklock said Fury was in the best shape of his life ahead of the Usyk fight – claiming he was ‘stronger and learner’ than ever before
Much has been said of Fury’s nutrition and training plan ahead of the fight, with nutritionist Greg Marriott revealing to Men’s Health that the boxer hsa been consuming 3,000 calories on rest days and between 4,000 to 6,000 calories on training days.
He said that the Gypsy King is eating up to six meals per day in the run up to the fight.
Fury has previously shared shots of his strict diet, with the WBC heavyweight posting a picture of a salad, chicken and rice on his social media.
Claims have also been made that Fury has added more garlic to his diet in a bid to help him recover from the cut he received above his eye during a sparring session earlier this year.
But there have been some concerns that the British fighter’s weight loss could have a detrimental impact to his punching power.
Marriott gave some insights to Fury’s nutrition over the past six months, telling Sky Sports on Thursday: ‘We went out to Jeddah in November and did a fat-loss camp for six weeks, then got into serious training. I’ve been in camp with him for six months.
Tyson Fury shared a photo of his chicken, rice and salad lunch with fans on social media
‘Listen, he’s telling me himself, he’s never gonna be body beautiful. It’s not about that. The body composition that has changed with him… I think people think he’s gonna be like 17.13st (249lb) – never.’
‘People say, ‘What’s changed in camp the last three years?’ Me. I’m not being big-headed, it is. I’ve come in and I’ve said: ‘Right, this is what we’re gonna do.’ And it’s nice, because he’s trusted me with everything.’
‘Watch what he does to Usyk. It’ll be like man versus boy, I promise you. He’s a serious Tyson Fury at the minute,’ Marriott added.
Usyk too has been through an incredible transformation in recent years. While his opponent has looked to become leaner, the Ukrainian fighter has looked to add bulk and power.
Usyk was previously a cruiserweight before making the step up to the heavyweight division
The Ukrainian has undergone a huge transformation after becoming a heavyweight boxer
The 37-year-old had earned his first world title at cruiserweight and has only fought six times in the heavyweight division. He was also notably undefeated in 16 bouts at cruiserweight.
Yet his seamless transformation into the heavyweight division has been, in part, down to his stellar training regieme and his dedication to the profession.
More to follow…
