By Jake Tiernan: Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed that he’s in training camp for his undisputed heavyweight championship against Tyson Fury on December 23rd in Saudi Arabia.
IBF, WBA & WBC champion Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) says he started camp a week after his last fight against Daniel Dubois last August, and he’s only taking a small break to attend this Saturday’s event between Fury & Francis Ngannoi in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk says that he knows that WBC champion Fury is “scared” of him, but he has no choice but to face him on December 23rd because he’ll be “forced” to fight.
This news dispels the rumors that Usyk won’t be available to fight in December because he needs a 14-week camp to prepare for the Fury fight. Now, the only thing that could keep the match-up from taking place is if Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) suffers an injury in his crossover event this Saturday night against Francis Ngannou.
Many fans believe that Fury has lost his self-confidence & ambition to take risky fights after a grueling trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder in December 2021, a bout that saw Tyson dropped twice in the fourth and narrowly avoiding being stopped.
“Tyson Fury is the one who talks too much, and the idea is to get into my head, and the reality is, I am inside his head. I am the one to move inside his head,” said Oleksandr Usyk to Boxing King Media.
“I confirm that I’m fighting Tyson Fury or anyone on the 23rd of December, but it has to be Tyson Fury,” continued Usyk. “I think his excellency brought in some strong arguments in the negotiations, and I’m really grateful to him for this,” said Oleksandr when asked why he thinks they were able to get the fight with Fury made.
Fury & Usyk are under contract to fight in December, so that match is going to happen unless one or both suffers an injury. With the money that the Saudis are paying them, they’ll still probably go ahead with the date, even if they’re injured.
“Tyson, I know you are scared to fight me, but you will be forced; you will have to. Step in the ring with me on December 23, and you will get beaten. I am here in boxing, not for the belt, not for money. I have my way, the way I walk,” said Usyk.
It’s already widely believed by fans that Fury has been running scared of Usyk for a long time, and the fact that he’s openly said he didn’t want to fight him, preferring to face Dereck Chisora & Dillian Whyte, was the clincher that Tyson didn’t feel like he was up for the job.
“Whatever happens, I am really relaxed. I don’t care what is going to happen,” said Usyk. “I have nothing to lose. I have been undisputed already [at cruiserweight], and I am one step away from undisputed now, and I can become the undisputed champion again if I wish.
“He [Fury] has a lot to lose, and I’ll explain why. He’s calling himself the King, but he has to prove that. Unfortunately, he’s the king with a naked a**. You will see how I challenge this talk guy.”
Fury’s reputation would take a massive hit if he lost to Usyk, as he’s been a poor champion since capturing the WBC belt from Deontay Wilder in 2020. In Fury’s first go-round as a heavyweight champion after his win over Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, he took close to three years off rather than defending the titles and giving him a rematch.
“If I was offered a fight like this, I would probably consider the idea,” said Usyk when asked if he would fight Francis Ngannou if the contest were offered to him.
The Saudis are giving Fury a ton of dough to take this fight with Ngannou, which is an odd bird. Why aren’t the Saudis offering Fury big money to fight one of the top contenders rather than this guy?
“After the fight with Dubois, I took one week to spend time with my family, with my kids, with my wife, and I moved to Kyiv for a little bit and stayed there,” said Usyk. “Listen, on the seventh day after the fight, I was already in training. Now, I am in training camp, fully occupied with my business.
“I had to break the training camp for a little bit because I have a scheduled trip here, and after the trip, I will come back,” said Usyk.
