Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will resume their rivalry when they clash in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December after Usyk won their first fight
Fury and Usyk swap messages before rematch – but muck up the DATE of their second bout.
Usyk beat Fury on points in May to become the undisputed heavyweight champ, only to be forced to give up one of his four belts shortly after. That belt will be up for grabs next weekend when new champ Dubois faces Joshua, leaving Fury and Usyk to scrap for the other three titles.
Their rematch is set for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 21 December – but both fighters posted messages asking if the other was ready for the sequel two days later. Usyk shared a video from the gym saying: “My mate Fury, I’m set for 23 December, are you set?” Fury hit back with: “On 23 December you’ll still be battered, lad. The question is, are you?”
Fury has been largely silent in the four months since his first professional defeat but bizarrely claimed the fight was easy. “It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be, the Usyk fight, a lot easier,” he said. “People were saying he’s a hard man to hit, but I was lighting him up with three and four punch combinations, laughing at him. My problem in that fight was probably that I had too much fun, it was too easy.
“At times it was too easy – it was like I was in there with a local amateur boxer and I was enjoying it too much and messing around and I paid the ultimate price in round nine when I got a 10-8 round and got clipped and that’s what happens when you have too much fun. They’ve always told me: never mix your work with having fun.
“And I’ve always given them the middle finger and now it’s come back to me. But still, I enjoyed it, it was all good. Get yourself well – I hear he’s got a broken jaw and eye socket, so get yourself well and I’ll see you in December for a Christmas extravaganza in Saudi Arabia.”
