Tyson Fury appears to be ramping up the mind games ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Fury will look to exact revenge over Usyk when they meet for a second time in Saudi Arabia, seven months after their first outing which the Ukrainian prevailed by split decision to win the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Undisputed glory will not be up for grabs for ‘The Gypsy King’ in the rematch after Usyk relinquished the IBF belt that Daniel Dubois subsequently defended in a fifth round rout of Anthony Joshua last month, having been elevated to full IBF champion.
And Fury, who suffered a first professional loss, seems to be keen on gaining an early mental edge over his rival after taking to social media on Thursday to taunt him.
The 36-year-old made reference to a disastrous ninth round, which saw him crash into the ropes and given a standing count.
The two-time heavyweight world champion survived the onslaught and made it to the final bell and Fury feels his inability to completely finish him off, will prove pivotal when they meet again.
“You are about a half feel the wrath of the Gypsy King,” he posted on his Instagram story.
“Should of finished me when you had the chance.”
The pair were on respectful terms when they were sat close to each other at Wembley Stadium to witness Dubois’ shock victory over Joshua, even taking a selfie together.
However, Fury abandoned the niceties with an expletive message in an Instagram post.
“You had your shot but couldn’t finish the job! Mistake!
“Now you’re about to feel the wrath of a menace! F*** Usyk. F*** Egis Klimas. F*** Alex Krassyuk and if you’re down with Usyk then f*** you too.
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“Gypsy King 2024 for coming for you. December 21 is mine. Me against the world. Incoming 3x heavyweight champion.”
Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight titlist since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999 and the inaugural champion in the four-belt era.
Never one to be drawn into a war of words, the 37-year-old replied to the Brit with a simple five-word response.
“You are very cool my friend.”
