“OK”: Usyk’s reaction to Fury’s vow of “pain” and “damage”

Oleksandr Usyk sounded completely unscathed as he revealed today that Tyson Fury had promised him “A lot of pain” and “damage” in their rematch this Saturday night.

Usyk: “OK”

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) shrugged his shoulders as if to say, ‘Whatever’, showing that he’s not at all worried about Fury’s idle threats and that he intends to be the one to inflict “pain” and “damage”. in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

After what Oleksandr did to Fury in their previous fights, it’s understandable why he doesn’t sweat his bold talk. Tyson will have to do more than talk to worry two-time undisputed champion Usyk.

Does Fury need a rest?

Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) looks like he’s had a tough life in the last seven months since his 12-round majority decision loss on May 18. Tyson looks like he’s been living under a bridge for the past 214 days since his defeat. He has heavy bags under both wrinkled eyes and a withered, shriveled appearance. I have never seen anyone look so bad in such a short period of time.

Mentally and physically, he doesn’t seem ready for the rematch, but he’s a trooper in going through with it. You have to respect that, but he might regret it if the result is worse than last time.

Former WBC heavyweight champion Fury seems to be pushing himself too hard and needs a long, long rest at health care homes. It is one of those places where he is waited on hand and foot, with the best food, massages and sunlight.

He’ll obviously take a nice vacation after the fight, but if he loses to Usyk by knockout, he could retire. Eddie Hearn has mentioned the possibility of Fury retiring if Usyk beats him, and you can’t rule it out.

“Ok,” Usyk told DAZN, in response to Tyson Fury saying today that Saturday brings him “A lot of pain, a lot of hurt, and smash and damage.”

Looks good and feels good 👌

Usyk’s reaction to Tyson Fury promising pain: “OK.” 😅#Usyk2Fury | #Riyadh Season | December 21, live on DAZN | Click link in bio to buy | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/rp5eErD8L2

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 18, 2024

“I thought Usyk looked very good. I’m going for Tyson Fury. I want him to win. I channel my positivity and vibes to him,” Eddie Hearn told the Stampede groundshoping Tyson Fury defeats Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday. “But how do you pick against Oleksandr Usyk? I do it because I’m patriotic, but how do you pick against him in this fight?

“If this fight is a classic and Fury wins, it’s very likely we’ll see a trilogy. But you’re also going to get the chance to fight AJ for Fury for the World Heavyweight Championship, which would be absolutely huge.

“If Fury loses, maybe he never fights again, or maybe he decides to take the AJ fight,” Hearn said. “AJ has one, two, three or four fights left. Fury has one, two, three or four fights left. Same with Usyk.

Post-battle scenarios

If Fury wins, Hearn could be lucky if he chooses to postpone the trilogy fight with Usyk and take on Anthony Joshua next. This is the smartest move Fury and his promoters can make, as they cannot count on Joshua surviving his next fight without being beaten again.

Joshua is fed up with being put in another rebuilding situation, and he will take on someone good to regain his self-respect after losing to Daniel Dubois on September 21st. That’s the problem. AJ is 35, not young, and his hitting resistance seems to be gone after a long career. So, if Fury comes through his fight with Usyk with a win, he needs to persuade his promoters to face Joshua next.

“A lot of those fighters come to the end, but hopefully not because the new crop coming through has talent. But the established names up there have been a great asset to the heavyweight division and boxing as a whole,” Hearn said.