Tyson Fury has rejected the idea that defeating Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch would be his crowning achievement in boxing, even though he is scheduled to face a man who ended his undefeated streak in May and is now considered the top heavyweight of his era.

Usyk, 37, holds undisputed titles in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions, boasting an impeccable professional record and numerous major amateur accolades. But the 36-year-old Fury says his most monumental moment was his victory over Wladimir Klitschko when he was a significant underdog.

Alternatively, given the circumstances, his two triumphs over feared hitter Deontay Wilder after throwing 10 stone, battling addiction and overcoming a doping ban could be included in the honor. Fury, however, believes that beating Usyk this weekend won’t be the highlight of his 36-fight career because it wouldn’t be a surprise – at least not to him.

“I’m expected to do it,” he said. “When I beat Klitschko, they expected me to wipe the floor with him. Beating this guy after losing by one point in my last fight by split decision wouldn’t be like, “Oh my God, huge upset.” “

This is certainly up for debate. When they step into the ring again tonight at the Kingdom Arena, which has become the epicenter of boxing’s biggest events, Usyk is the favorite. Fury maintains their last fight was a close draw.

One of the judges scored the fight 114-113 in Fury’s favor, while the other two sided with Usyk, scoring 114-113 and 115-112. However, as the second half of the fight progressed, it seemed clear that the Ukrainian had taken the lead, especially after he forced a countout in the ninth round and almost ended the fight.

“I ended up stronger than him in round 12,” Fury said. “Believe it or not, he was carried back to the locker room. He was blown to pieces. “I have a photo on my phone, three days later I had no mark on me.

“Three days later he was massacred, his jaw was broken, his eye socket was damaged and so on. And I’m not even in the best shape, not even a little bit.

“Honestly, I feel sorry for the boy. They talk about trilogies, but… [the beating I’m going to put on him] he plans to return to cruiserweight on Saturday night.

– I’m sure of it. But then again, money speaks all languages, right? This involves a lot of money, so maybe he’ll want to hide even better.

There is ongoing debate as to whether a trilogy fight is contractually obligated. Ultimately, the decision rests with Saudi boxing broker Turki Alalshikh, who controls the most critical aspect of boxing – the purse strings.

Daniel Dubois has expressed interest in fighting the winner and Anthony Joshua has his sights set on fighting Fury. We may see a third clash between these two in the Middle East in the coming months.

Fury’s assurance that it won’t overshadow Klitschko is persuasive, but there is a sense that this fight could be the defining moment of his career. He may not secure the undisputed crown that Usyk won in May as the IBF is now in the hands of others.

The WBA, WBO and WBC belts may be held by Dubois, but they pale in comparison to glamor boxing’s No. 1 title. Fury has been training in Malta for the past three months in preparation for tonight’s fight.

Despite his Santa-like beard, with only a lick of white hair dye left to complete, he left the Christmas shopping to his wife Paris, who will be at ringside tonight after missing their May date due to a miscarriage.

Instead of wondering what presents would be under the tree this Christmas, Fury focused on conquering the heavyweight division.

If he can do this, it will be his greatest night, whether he admits it or not.

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.