Oleksandr Usyk is scheduled to rematch Tyson Fury on December 21 in Riyad after taking a split decision over him to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in May, and Fury has somewhat downplayed Usyk’s performance, publicly stating that he only thinks he lost the fight because he was having too much fun there, fooling around.

Wit Heavenly sports when talking to Usyk about Fury’s stance, he sort of dismisses the whole concept, insisting he will take the rematch as seriously as the first.

“For me, my fight will be tough because Tyson Fury is a gigantic man, a good boxer with a good boxing IQ.

“But if Tyson says it will be basic for him, ok, no problem. I see Tyson Fury, I see through Tyson Fury’s eyes, it’s not basic. It’s going to be difficult, very, very difficult.”

It doesn’t seem like most observers are giving much weight to Fury’s comments about having an basic time in the first meeting, but if that’s indeed the case, Usyk assures Fury he has nothing to fear in the upcoming fight, while also delivering an ominous message: “I won’t leave you alone.”

Usyk continued by comparing Fury to a yeti, pointing out that he is a enormous and powerful opponent that forced him to deal with some physical ailments as a result of fighting him long and difficult the first time, but claims that this was not actually the case He suffered a broken jaw, Fury said. In the meantime, Usyk will prepare for the rematch in December.

Serhii Bohachuk spends some time talking to Fight Hub TV about his upcoming fight against Vergil Ortiz, his previous experiences training with him, and touches on topics such as why he thinks Terence Crawford will beat Israil Madrimov and his expectations that Vasily Lomachenko will not fight again. Below you can read some fragments of his speech.

Bohachuk on knowing Ortiz’s style

“I know his style. I have experience training with him, I spar with him, I spend a lot of time sparring with him, maybe 50 rounds, yes. Maybe 50, maybe 70 rounds with him in sparring. Sparring is sparring, fighting is fighting – it’s different. I know his style, he’s quick, he’s powerful, he’s a Mexican boxer and he’s astute. He thinks, you know. He thinks, he moves, he has a good punch, good conditioning, he is a good player.

“And he knows me too… he knows he has to prepare 100% for this fight, and I will be 101% ready for this fight.” This will be war. It’s very compelling.”

On whether he thinks he’ll be able to handle Ortiz’s power in a real fight given his sparring experiences with him

“Nice power and not very, very powerful. You know, sparring is a different glove. Sparring with larger gloves and headgear is a completely different matter. And the fight is more compelling because of the miniature gloves and powerful punches. And keep fighting, it will be compelling.

“I have to be careful in this fight. You know, this guy has 21 (wins), 21 KOs. He can hit. I have to be different, be careful… I have to be careful for 12 rounds. As my coach Manny Robles told me, “you have to be careful in the first round, for 12 rounds.” Same thing. And I know it, I have to be careful and astute with him, and not just throw, throw, throw punches… I have to show cleverness in this fight, astute aggression.

About what he thinks about the Crawford vs. Madrimov fight

“Crawford wins this fight, I think Crawford is better. Madrimov is a good boxer, Madrimov is a good punch, good technique, and Crawford is better, Crawford is stronger, Crawford is faster, smarter. That’s my opinion, I think Crawford will win this fight.”

At Lomachenko he refuses to fight Tank

“Why? Because Lomachenko is aged. Where was Gervonta a few years ago when Lomachenko was the best? Now Lomachenko is older, Lomachenko is not stronger, many people want to fight him and ‘let’s go’. Where was this guy a few years ago when Lomachenko achieved peak? Where?

“I think (Lomachenko) doesn’t feel too powerful, he’s a little tired. Of course it’s aged. He’s 37, right. 37 years aged, come on. He’s had a long career, a great career, he’s been working for maybe 30 years, he’s working, he’s working difficult… he’s tired, come on guys. He’s not a robot, he’s people like you, like me, and he needed a break.

On whether he thinks Lomachenko can come back next year and compete at the highest level with someone like Tank

“I think maybe he’s not back yet. I think maybe so (retires)… I don’t think he’s a year delayed(r). He comes back and says “I want to stay”… No, he needs some uncomplicated fights and he’s not going to have that time. He’s aged. I don’t think he came back.”

Mike Coppinger reports undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is “in the process of finalizing a deal” to face Edgar Berlanga at the DAZN/Prime PPV on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

He said the event would go head-to-head with UFC 306 at the Sphere, just three miles away.

Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO) is coming off a one-sided win over Jaime Munguia, after which he defeated the juvenile contender in the fourth round and gradually outclassed him. The IBF has ordered a mandatory title defense against William Scull, who has apparently agreed to waive the contract that clears the way for it.

Moments after longtime interim champion David Morrell Jr moved up to lightweight heavyweight after years of the WBA refusing to order title consolidation, the sanctioning body named Berlanga (22-0, 17 KO) as Alvarez’s mandatory challenger. “The Chosen One,” who ended a five-fight knockout drought last February by stopping Padraig McCrory in six, has no appeal beyond the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry, which organizers will run into the ground, as we can expect. His powers have been shown to be fictitious, his foundation remains shaky, and he has shown a tendency to cheat his ass when things don’t go his way.

And not even in the charming way that, say, he tricked Sakio Bik.

I don’t see the need for poetry here. It’s just a bad fight, probably Canelo’s worst fight since Avni Yildirim in 2021. The UFC 306 lineup may be painfully average so far, but I wouldn’t expect substantial PPV numbers from Canelo this time around.