Tyson Fury exclusive: Gypsy King on Oleksandr Usyk fear factor, talks cut incident recovery - 'This is my destiny'
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Updated 15/05/2024 at 10:00 GMT+1
Tyson Fury will again put his undefeated record on the line when he meets Oleksandr Usyk to determine the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. However, The Gypsy King stresses that he is not afraid of the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine title holder, and that it is his "destiny" to contest the sport's biggest events. The hotly-anticipated fight takes place on Saturday.
'The best fighter I've fought' - Fury says he's giving Usyk the 'respect he deserves'
Tyson Fury has shrugged off any suggestion that he might be afraid of Oleksandr Usyk as the highly anticipated undisputed heavyweight title fight approaches.
Fury is preparing to face off with Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, May 18, live on TNT Sports Box Office to determine the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Fury is undefeated in his professional career but the WBC holder will face a formidable test when he goes up against the holder of the WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine titles.
While Usyk last fought in August, knocking out British heavyweight Daniel Dubois in the ninth round in Poland, Fury avoided defeat in a split-decision victory over former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in October.
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‘It is no secret I have struggled’ – Fury opens up on mental health
In an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, Steve Bunce put it to Fury that the 37-year-old had the ability to end his unbeaten record.
However, 'The Gypsy King' was adamant that he would come out on top.
"I don’t think no man can beat me. There’s never been a man born who can beat me and apparently there has been 160 billion people born on this earth in history and I don’t think any one of them could beat me," he said.
"Two at a time couldn’t beat me because I’m The Gypsy King and I’d find a way to win every time, and you’re going to see on Saturday night. I’m going to do it."
He added: "This is what I live for, it's what I'm born and bred to do. From a newborn, I always believed this was my destiny. I’m supposed to be here, and if I wasn’t, God would have shown me that.
"Why should I be afraid of some Ukrainian dosser?"
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'An absolute natural' - Fury takes to stage ahead of Usyk fight
Training injury left Fury 'depressed'
The fight was supposed to take place on February 17 but was postponed after Fury suffered a "freak" injury in training with a cut that required stitches.
Fury admits the incident caused him dismay but that he felt immediately better when the event was rescheduled.
"It [camp] was practically finished, we maybe had a few little rounds to do after that sparring-wise," Fury explained.
"When it happened, I was like ‘oh s***’, I’ve got a cut, how bad is it? When I saw it was a big old gash, I was thinking ‘s***’. It didn’t sink in for a few hours until I had my stitches in. And I thought, ‘it’s all off, can’t believe it’s all off’.
"I was quite down for a few days, I was depressed. As soon as we got it all sorted and put it back on for another day, I was alright then."
And he feels the timing is now better and as fight night approaches, he is "feeling good and ready to rock and roll".
"The postponements have always helped me in my life and it’s all God’s timing," he continued.
"I remember when I was supposed to fight Wladimir [Klitschko] on September 1 in 2015. I was overtrained, I had to lose a lot of weight, six or seven stone as usual, and I didn’t have it in me. I was feeling very rough and thank God he pulled out, he got an injury.
"He postponed it until November and it was a blessing for me in disguise because I was able to get all of that back, recharge and I was super ready for the fight.
"It's the same [this time]. I’ve had a couple of weeks out but I’ve never stopped training and I’m always in the gym."
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'I deliver on the big occasions' - Fury confident ahead of Usyk clash
How to watch Fury v Usyk in the UK
Fury v Usyk on TNT Sports Box Office costs £24.99 in the UK and can be watched on discovery+, EE TV, Virgin Media TV and Prime Video.
You do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.
discovery+ - TNT Sports Box Office events are now available to purchase and watch in the discovery+ app – on smart TVs, computer or mobile device, viewers wanting to watch the fight should visit https://www.discoveryplus.com/gb/ppv-purchases and follow instructions to subscribe and then purchase the event.
Virgin Media TV - Customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV 360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View events rail.
EE TV - Customers can purchase the event via their STB on channel 494.
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