Thompson: "Usyk Is Not Someone to Play With"

On May 18th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a fight for the undisputed world heavyweight title (over 200 lbs) will take place between the holder of the WBA, WBO, IBF, and IBO titles Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) and WBC champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs).

British heavyweight Jordan Thompson (15-1, 12 KOs) shared his experiences sparring with Oleksandr and Tyson.

"They called me about sparring with Usyk, and I didn't think twice. I said, 'Yes, no problem—it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.'

I was on my own—really didn’t think about where I was going. I stayed in central Kyiv. For the sparring sessions, we had to go out to the sticks, the countryside. There were three little huts—really secluded, mysterious place. The first sparring, we entered a small room behind the house—the ring was tiny. 'This is going to be fun.'

A phenomenal athlete. What he posts on his social media—how he goes about his business—he’s a bit of a joker, but as soon as he steps into the ring, he switches on, and he's not someone to play with.

Fury? He's a special person. If you're in camp, he treats you like his own. He embraces you. He really did a lot for me personally and as a boxer. We had several good talks, and he gave me some really good advice.

Fury can make you do what he wants—it's exceptional. He has a method against everything, and again—he's very adaptive. With Usyk, we've always seen that he’s a phenomenal tactician and technical boxer. But whoever stands against Fury—he adapts to them, and he’ll come up with something to win," said Thompson.