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Oleksandr Usyk's reaction to Tyson Fury fight being cancelled speaks volumes
Oleksandr Usyk had a telling response after learning that Tyson Fury had pulled out of their first blockbuster fight earlier this year.
In May, the Ukrainian fighter became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in 25 years by beating Fury, following in the footsteps of Lennox Lewis who achieved the same feat in 1999. Usyk became the first man to beat 'The Gypsy King' as he won via split decision in Saudi Arabia.
The fight had been scheduled to take place three months earlier, with the stage set in Riyadh for a fight on February 17. However, it was forced to be postponed after Fury suffered a 'freak' cut above his eye in training, just two weeks out from the planned bout.
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Usyk later revealed how he had learnt the news that his opponent had pulled out, giving an insight into the mind of a champion. After hearing that the original plan was off, the 37-year-old said he simply grinned and returned to the ring for a sparring session.
"My reaction was just to smile," he said. "I am training after my sparring my team told me that Tyson Fury was cut. After that, I just smiled and went back to training."
Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk added that he was not surprised by the fighter's reaction, telling Boxing News: "His mentality is stronger than concrete, stronger than iron, stronger than a stone.
"If such small things like this can break him then you can’t call him undisputed. He’s not like that. He said it was expected, that's what he said. Now he relies on his team to work on his behalf and to work out a good solution, which we are now in progress with."
Usyk heads into the rematch on Saturday (December 21) still undefeated, unlike Fury. But the British fighter has vowed to right the wrongs of the first bout and knock out his opponent this weekend.
"I’ve always been a bad man my whole life, and I’m still one today at nearly 40 years old, a few years off 40," he said ahead of the rematch in Riyadh. "I'm going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time, I went to box him, I was being cautious.
"Anybody can get caught as we have seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights. But this time I'm not going for a points decision. I'm going to knock that motherf****r out."
