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Tyson Fury: 'Oleksandr Usyk's going to feel the wrath and the menace this time, I've got a point to prove!'

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury rematch for the unified world heavyweight championship on Saturday; Fury says he has already taken Usyk's best shots and now threatens him with "the wrath"; the Usyk vs Fury 2 Riyadh Season event will be live on Sky Sports Box Office

John Dennen

Sports journalist

Wednesday 18 December 2024 06:19, UK

Tyson Fury endured one the most torrid rounds of his career when Oleksandr Usyk rocked him in their first world heavyweight title fight.

In that ninth round the referee deemed Fury had only been held up by the ropes and handed him a count.

But rather than seeing that moment of severe jeopardy as a cause for concern, former champion Fury has drawn confidence from it.

"He threw his best shots. He had 10 shots on target, all on target, never dropped me. So if he couldn't drop me when I was on Bambi legs, God be with him this time," Fury told Sky Sports.

"I think he had his best shots to get me out of there and didn't do it."

He is adamant that when they fight in the Riyadh Season event this weekend, live on Sky Sports Box Office, he will turn the tables on Usyk.

"Hit me with your best shot, I looked back at him and smiled and he's going to feel the wrath and the menace this time, I've got a point to prove," Fury warned his rival.

He is convinced that overall the first fight was more punishing for the Ukrainian than it was for him.

"After the fight they said he had a broken face bone or a broken jaw. Something to do with that," he said.

"I didn't feel like I lost the fight then, I didn't feel like I lost the fight after watching it back. So it's subjective to people's opinions. Some people thought he won, some people thought I won.

"It was a close fight and that's what happens in close fights I suppose. It could go either way."

The count Fury took in the ninth round though could have tipped the decision Usyk's way. Eliminating those errors, Fury insists, will turn the rematch in his favour.

"With it [the count] being towards the end of the fight I suppose the judges must have saw that and banked on it a little bit more than they would have done if it didn't happen," he said.

"A little bit more focus if anything. More laser focus and not as much clowning. If I take them two things to the gameplan then that would be a bit more successful. There's not big margins here. They only gave it to him by a point, [it could have been] a split decision either way, draw, whatever.

"So there's not massive things we could easily change. But how about this one? How about I took that 10-8 round away in round nine? It's not a draw anymore is it or a win by a point, it's a clear win.

"A little bit less fooling and a little bit more focus, laser focus and I should do the job."

He did hail the technical excellence of both fighters in their first meeting, especially for two heavyweights.

"I was hitting him with lead uppercuts at one stage, bang, lead right uppercuts, we never see a heavyweight throw lead rights, uppercuts. It's good, I enjoyed it," he said.

"Styles make different fights. As we've seen over the years with Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield, the two fights that they had were very close. And it's pretty much similar. I expect it to be pretty much similar, I expect it to be a tough little fight. A good fight.

"Even as a boxing fan I watched it over lots of times, it was swings and roundabouts both ways and both fighters had success."