Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk met in London for the first press conference ahead of their highly-anticipated heavyweight rematch.
It was just five months ago that the pair battled it out for heavyweight supremacy, with Fury bringing the WBC belt to the table and Usyk the IBF, WBA and WBO.
Following 12 thrilling rounds packed with skill and power, the Ukrainian came out the victor via split decision, buoyed by scoring a 10-8 in the ninth after he had the Brit almost out on his feet.
Fury activated his contractual rematch clause immediately. In the time since, Usyk has vacated the IBF to honour the second fight, which has been defended once by Daniel Dubois when he defeated Anthony Joshua by knockout.
‘The Gypsy King’ has remained adamant that he won the fight and was unfairly treated by the judges but there’s little doubt that Usyk – only the second man in history to become undisputed at both cruiser and heavyweight – will enter the ring as confident as ever of keeping his undefeated record.
In an otherwise uneventful and respectful press conference, Usyk – dressed as the Agent 47 character from the Hitman franchise – opened his briefcase and produced two photos for Fury to sign, one of which was the most memorable right hand from the fight. The Brit duly obliged before Usyk’s manager, Egis Klimas, joked that it would be on eBay tomorrow.
Oleksandr Usyk REVEALS what is in his briefcase 😂#UsykFury2 | #RiyadhSeason | Dec 21 pic.twitter.com/cpClq5uDCO
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) October 23, 2024
Undeterred, Fury said he was coming for the knockout and that his track record in rematches backs that up.
The pair faced off and made it official. Training camp now properly begins. The fight takes place on December 21 back out in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, propped up by an entertaining undercard.
