Oleksandr Usyk admits that Tyson Fury put pressure on himself during the competition, but promises to stay composed before the rematch.

Usyk will defend his unified heavyweight world tiles against Fury on Saturday in Riyad in a long-awaited second appearance, seven months after inflicting his first defeat against “The Gypsy King”.

Fury has been extremely reserved throughout the build-up, but has remained consistent in his vow to hurt the Ukrainian when they meet at the Kingdom Arena.

Usyk insists he has no problems connecting with the Briton outside the ring and believes the two will look back on their rivalry with fondness in the years to come.

“Yes, I enjoy it [confrontation with Fury]– said the 37-year-old TNT sports boxing.

“Because these are emotions.

“These are memories that are created when we get older, when we are two vintage people.

“He [Tyson] he promised to come to Ukraine.

“So he will come to Ukraine, to my ranch.

“We’ll be drinking beer and he’ll say, ‘Oh, remember when you beat me twice?’

Saudi Arabian boxing boss Turki Alalshikh has expressed his desire to see a trilogy fight if Fury wins.

After Thursday’s press conference, the two looked down and exchanged words for 11 minutes before being separated by security.

Usyk admits the verbal battle can be exhausting and forces him to maintain his composure.

“I feel like punching him in the face,” he added.

“His [Tyson] cheeks turn red.

“But I remember that I have to stay composed and I pray, saying, ‘Lord, please aid him and me.’

‘The Cat’ became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis when he beat the Morecambe man in May, but vacated the IBF title shortly afterwards to secure a rematch.

Daniel Dubois, who has been elevated to full IBF champion and will defend his crown against Joseph Parker on Feb. 22 in Riyad, will stand ringside and call on the winner to unite.

“I’m here in Saudi Arabia and I want a winner on Saturday night,” said the 27-year-old talkSPORT.

“I want to fight for an undisputed result, that’s the game now and that’s the goal.

“100% [I would beat them]. This is my time now.

“I’ve had my ups and downs, but I’m a up-to-date man.”

Tyson Fury won the beard fight ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

The “Gypsy King” has vehemently opposed Usyk’s team’s demands to reduce his facial hair ahead of their heavyweight title rematch and will enter the ring with his beard intact, according to Frank Warren. Speaking to Sky Sports, Warren explained: “He has a beard and there have been a lot of players over the years who have struggled with beards and that’s all.”

Furthermore, promoter Warren revealed that Usyk would not be allowed to place a crucifix at ringside, a gift from Greek monks. Usyk, who visibly kissed the cross during the previous match, claiming that it improved his performance, will not be able to exploit this potential source of inspiration this time.

Warren explained the situation: “There was a lot of speculation after the fight, they weren’t sure what it was. We just went through it all. If something other than water is being used in the athlete’s mouth, the inspector will take the athlete away and hold him, and if they find something wrong, they will look into it, test it, whatever it is, whatever they have to do.

Fury’s team asked for clarification on low blows ahead of Friday’s rules meeting. They want to avoid a repeat of the controversy that emerged when Usyk was hit with a low blow by Daniel Dubois in their 2023 fight. Warren commented: “This is what is considered a low blow or not. Anything below the navel is a low blow, and many players wear their shorts higher, which sometimes leads to, you might say, confusion, as was the case with Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

“There was a problem in this fight and we don’t want that to happen, neither does the other side, so the referee made it very clear, what the referee didn’t explain in the previous fight, he didn’t come and give some instructions in the boxers’ locker rooms to make sure everyone understand this explanation and that we know what a low blow is.”

Tyson Fury’s eagerly awaited rematch with Oleksandr Usyk brought an unexpected change in the judging panel after one of the judges fell ill.

Steve Weisfeld from Modern Jersey replaced Fernando Barbosa from Miami, who was unable to make it to Riyadh for the fight. In addition to Weisfeld, American Patrick Morley and Gerardo Martinez from Puerto Rico will score the goals, and the referee will be their compatriot Roberto Ramirez.

In their first meeting last May, Usyk emerged victorious with scores of 114-113 from Mike Fitzgerald and 115-112 from Manuel Oliver Palomo in Usyk’s favor, while Craig Metcalfe edged Fury’s score 114-113. Determined to settle the score, Fury is set to face his heavyweight rival Usyk in the ring again this Saturday night in Riyad.

In a surprise move ahead of the WBA, WBO and WBC heavyweight bout, Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh revealed that an unprecedented fourth judge would score the fight using artificial intelligence technology, ensuring a bias-free and error-free evaluation by The Ring. Alalshikh took to social media to announce this historic fight, which will have no impact on the official results as the final decision will still rest with the three judges in the ring if the fight goes to 12 rounds.

He expressed his innovation on social media: “For the first time in history, the fight will be monitored by a referee using artificial intelligence. Free from bias and human error that The Ring provides. This groundbreaking experiment, which will have no impact on official results, will debut during the biggest fight of the century, #Usyk2Fury, on December 21. Don’t miss history in the making.”

Fury was defeated by Usyk in their first clash in May, which changed the vigorous dramatically in the ninth round when the Ukrainian fighter took control. Despite two judge defeats, with only one judge favoring Fury, he remains confident of going into the rematch with three of his four world titles at stake.

He says he doesn’t have to drastically change his strategy to regain the title. “I’m just going to exploit boxing like I did last time. “I’m not going to do anything drastic, like completely change the game plan, because it’s not necessary,” he said. “If it was five, six or seven rounds the other way and it was a landslide, that’s fine. Then I would have to change something drastically. But since it was a very close fight, I don’t really have to change much. I just have to be a little more focused and that’s all. Why would I change anything when I had control of the fight maybe 80 percent of the time?

He added: “I land on it at will, head and body, I deliver a right uppercut, a left hook, a right hook to the body. Sometimes he plays double. I don’t feel the need to change anything. I don’t think so. Usyk will also change, because the key to victory will be attacking. He won’t attack me offensively, so he has to come forward and fight.