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 will lose almost half of his earnings after the highly anticipated rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. The 36-year-old British boxer is expected to earn around £60 million for fighting the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia.

However, if Usyk, who handed Fury a split decision victory in their first meeting in May, wins again, it won’t be the only thing Fury will lose. According to data analyst JeffBeta, Fury will receive almost £30 million in prize money deducted by the taxman for income tax and national insurance, which he will have to pay when he returns to the UK.

In total, around 47 per cent of his winnings will go to HM Revenue and Customs. He will have to pay around £28 million in tax and an additional £1.2 million in National Insurance contributions.

The fight purse shared by Usyk and Fury is believed to be valued at a staggering £150 million. With a victory in the first fight, Usyk is expected to take home a larger share of the purse, estimated at around 60 percent.

Discussing the tax treatment of Fury’s earnings, a JeffBet spokesperson commented: “If you are a UK resident you must pay tax on your earnings abroad in the same way and this remains the same regardless of how much someone may earn.

“Good tax advice is always crucial and in this case you can be sure that the Fury camp will consider the most advantageous deal.”

While financial aspects play their part, Fury, better known as the Gypsy King, is determined to fix his only professional failure. He recently confessed that he had not spoken to his wife Paris for three months in order to maintain absolute concentration.

On his approach to the upcoming fight, Fury revealed: “If anything, a little more focus. More laser focus and less clowning around.

“If I put two things into my game plan, it will be a little more effective. There are no large advantages here. They only gave him a point [it could have been] either way, split decision, draw, whatever. So there’s not much we can change easily.

“But how about this one? How about I won the round 10-8 in round nine? This is no longer a draw or a one-point victory, it is a decisive victory. A little less cheating and a little more focus, laser focus and I should get my job done.

This article first appeared Take back the USA.

Pacheco (22-0, 18 KO) is getting closer to a world title as a challenger to the WBO world title. The Los Angeles star will headline his sixth straight appearance and second appearance in Las Vegas, where he defeated Shawn McCalman on points in April before returning to his home stadium in August to record his 18th victory at the distance in a nauseating KO victory over Maciej Sulecki via body shot – performances that further strengthened his position as one of the hottest talents in the game, as confirmed by ESPN’s ranking of Pacheco in 2nd place on the list of the best players in the category 25, second only to star player and stablemate Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

Nelson (20-0, 16 KO) was gearing up for a huge fight and now he has a chance to thwart Pacheco’s rise to the top and take the great position his adolescent opponent has achieved. The 36-year-old last got a taste of action in August in Los Angeles, defeating Marcos Rodriguez via fifth-round stoppage thanks to a victory over his good friend and fellow Omaha fighter, Terence Crawford.

“I am very excited to return to the ring in early 2025 against another undefeated opponent – ​​the DP show goes on,” Pacheco said.

“This is the type of fight I wanted, so I could show the world who I am,” Nelson said.

Diego Pacheco will defend his WBO International super middleweight title against Steven Nelson at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on Saturday, January 25, live worldwide on DAZN – and Cuban Olympic star Andy Cruz will face Omar Salcido and Ernesto Mercado will face Jose Pedraza in his Matchroom debut.