Tyson Fury has perhaps never been viewed as a bigger underdog than he is going into his mammoth rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Usyk handed Fury the first defeat of his 16-year professional career back in May, dropping the Brit on route to a split decision victory in Riyadh to become undisputed heavyweight champion.
The pair had been originally due to lock horns back in February, however the bout was postponed two weeks out after ‘The Gypsy King’ sustained a gruesome cut in sparring.
And Fury has now claimed that the injury hampered his preparations for his first meeting with the masterful Ukrainian.
In an interview with TNT Sports, the two-time world champion admitted he and his team were “so worried” about the gash opening up and once again scuppering the highest payday of his career.
“All I need is five or six weeks sparring, good sparing this time where I’ve not got a cut that is going to open up.
“We worried so much about the cut in the camp because there was a massive payday on this cut. And the cut wasn’t even a factor in the fight so now, cushty, can’t wait.
“Listen, it was only 12 weeks before I had a 16 stitch cut across my left eye and that had to heal.
“It maybe took seven or eight weeks for the cut to heal up, then another six or seven weeks training, but there’s always a risk of it opening up [in camp] and you lose your big dough.”
After underwhelming performances against Derek Chisora and Francis Ngannou, Fury got himself into close to career-best shape for the historic clash with Usyk, the first undisputed heavyweight world title fight in a quarter of a century.
🗣 “Should of finished when you had the chance”
🗣 “You’re really cool, my friend”🍿 This trash talk between @Tyson_Fury & @usykaa though 😅#Boxing #UsykFury2 #TysonFury #OleksandrUsyk pic.twitter.com/8hSU2vsl5u
— Pro Boxing Fans (@ProBoxingFans) October 5, 2024
However, it was not enough and the 36-year-old and those around him will have to pull something special out of the bag if they are to reverse the result this Christmas.
