Ukrainian WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) shared his thoughts on meeting former champion Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) at the Joshua vs. Dubois fight.
— Did you see him today? Tyson Fury was ringside. Did you two talk?
— Yes, yes. "Hey, hello, friend. How are you? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." No 'rabbits' or anything like that.
— So, what did Tyson say?
— "Hi. How are things? All good?" No issues. We'll be nice to each other. But a lot of talking is just for show. Maybe many don’t understand what's going on, but I do because I’ve been in this business for a long time.
— Three months to the fight. Have you already started your training camp? You’re looking for sparring partners through Ready to Fight, right?
— Yes, that’s correct. After my fight with Fury, I took about 2-3 weeks off, but since then, I've been training every day – cardio, not boxing, more physical preparation, a bit of boxing, but I train every day, even if it’s light. Once a day, yes. Tomorrow, we start again, getting back to training camp, starting full intensity. Three sessions a day – sparring, running, basketball, swimming, sleep, food.
— And sparring partners? You’ll be looking for them, possibly through RTF? Is that your plan?
— Yes.
— Lastly, we’ll see you in camp. You won brilliantly last time. What’s going to happen again on December 21 when you face Tyson Fury?
— Oh no, I’m bad at predictions.
— But you predicted the Joshua fight!
— Yes (laughs), and look what happened.
— But you’ll beat Fury again?
— I will win, God willing.
In May, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision, becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion. Their rematch is set for December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.