Tyson Fury seems to be gaining strength before his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.

Fury will be looking to exact revenge on Usyk when they meet for the second time in Saudi Arabia, seven months after their first meeting, in which the Ukrainian won split decision win the undisputed heavyweight title.

Undisputed glory will be up for grabs for the “Gypsy King” in the rematch after Usyk vacated the IBF belt, which Daniel Dubois then defended in a fifth-round defeat of Anthony Joshua last month, to advance to the full IBF title.

Fury, who suffered his first professional defeat, appears keen to gain a mental advantage over his rival after he began taunting him on social media on Thursday.

The 36-year-old referred to the disastrous ninth round in which he hit the ropes and was knocked out standing.

The two-time world heavyweight champion survived the onslaught and made it to the final bell, and Fury feels his inability to completely finish him off will be crucial when they meet again.

“About halfway through you feel the wrath of the gypsy king,” he wrote on his Instagram story.

“You should have finished me off when you had the chance.”

The two behaved respectfully as they sat close to each other at Wembley Stadium to witness Dubois’ shock victory over Joshua and even took selfies together.

However, Fury dropped these niceties by posting profanity in an Instagram post.

“You had a chance, but you couldn’t finish the job! Mistake!

“Now you will feel the wrath of the threat! Fuck Usyk. Fuck Aegis Klimas. F*** Alex Krasiuk and if you’re with Usyk, then fuck you too.

“Gypsy King 2024 for coming to you. December 21st is mine. Me against the world. Upcoming 3-time heavyweight champion.”

Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999 and became the inaugural champion of the four-belt era.

The 37-year-old, who has never been drawn into a war of words, replied to the Briton with a basic five-word answer.

“You are very chilly, my friend.”

Former Manchester City star Micah Richards has bizarrely thrown his hat into the ring to become the next star to turn his hand to boxing.

Several stars have joined the ring over the past few years, with former Leicester City defender Danny Simpson and countless TikTok influencers getting involved with Misfits Boxing – the company founded by YouTuber-turned-celebrity KSI.

Wayne Rooney and Luke Littler have previously joked that they wouldn’t mind joining the ever-growing line-up in the future, and reports claimed that a fight between TV personality Joey Essex and Tommy Fury, Tyson’s brother, was likely.

With the rise of impact boxing showing no signs of slowing down, pundit Richards joked that he wouldn’t turn down an invitation to fight – although he’s set the bar quite high due to his lack of experience.

The former Aston Villa captain recently boxed former player Malik Scott, who married Richards’ CBS Sport colleague Kate Abdo earlier this year. Footage of the 36-year-old on the pads was then broadcast earlier this week and his combinations did earn him some praise.

Commenting on the clip, Abdo said: “Very nippy. Misfit boxing? Celebrity fight, will it be a challenge for you? Do we have a disagreement with someone we can make an appointment with? Let’s make some money.”

Richards then replied: “Jake Paul fights Mike Tyson, right? So I’m next. They call me Iron Mike Jr.” The response was met with laughter in the studio, although Thierry Henry chimed in to warn his colleague not to bite off more than he can chew.

The Frenchman said, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Conor McGregor has insisted that Anthony Joshua should face Daniel Dubois again following his fifth-round knockout defeat last month.

McGregor was at ringside when Dubois dismantled Joshua defended the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium in front of a record crowd of 96,000.

There is no rematch clause in the contract, but Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren has said publicly that they would be open to a reunion with “AJ.”

A rematch is apparently the preferred option for Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh, who organized the event and was pictured with Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn Lately.

UFC star McGregor believes the Watford fighter should go straight back for his second fight with “Dynamite” and believes he should change his tactics to win this time.

“Make no mistake, I think what should happen next between Joshua and Dubois will be a rematch,” the Irishman said.

“And stay on the ground. Don’t even go forward, don’t even go back. Stand your ground and meet up.

“Joshua has a good, robust jab.

“He almost came back and really hurt him with it before he got caught with the shot.

“This is a live fight between two very competitive fighters who just gave us all a show in front of 96,000 fans on behalf of Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh.

“Do it again. Really, do it again.

McGregor is being linked with a sensational return to boxing against four-weight world champion Terence Crawford.

The 36-year-old has only had one professional boxing fight, stopped by Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017 in the second highest-grossing fight of all time.

Crawford was reportedly offered a contract for two fights with the UFC world champion in two weight classes, one boxing fight and one MMA fight, although “Bud” revealed that he turned down the offer.

“I told Conor, ‘Hell no,'” Crawford said in an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer on YouTube.

“They called me and offered me the fight, and me and Conor called and started getting political to figure something out.

“I told him, ‘Man, I’m not getting in any f**king octagon with you so you can kick me and elbow me and f**k me.’

“He started laughing and said, ‘Man, I respect that. You respect my sport as much as I respect your sport and you understand that if you get into the Octagon you will be at a disadvantage. Just like if I get into a boxing ring with you, I will be at a disadvantage.”

“But he said, ‘We’re going to make a hell of a lot of money.’

“I said, ‘Yeah, sometimes it’s not about the money, I can make it, but you’re not going to kick me, man.’

“Kicks and elbows, dude, this is not a joke.”