Tyson Fury has been sparring with 'British Mike Tyson' ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch
Tyson Fury has been sparring with a young boxer dubbed the ‘British Mike Tyson’ ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career to Usyk in May, losing out on the title of undisputed heavyweight champion of the world to the Ukrainian via split decision. He is readying himself for revenge against the undefeated Usyk on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fury, 36, is leaving no stone unturned in his preparation for the sequel fight, drafting in six sparring partners of a similar height and build to Usyk in order to recreate his unique style. One of those is teenage boxing star and southpaw Moses Itauma.
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Born in Slovakia to a Nigerian father before moving to England, Itauma has been labelled ‘Britain’s Mike Tyson’ by the British press, thanks to his all-action approach to fighting. The 19-year-old is seen in the boxing community as a potential future world champion – and even Fury has conceded that he won’t want to face him in a serious contest.
"No, I definitely wouldn't [accept a fight with Itauma]," he replied last year. "Do you think I'm stupid? No, no no." Itauma is set to face Demsey McKean on the Usyk vs Fury rematch undercard in what is expected to be his biggest bout yet.
"I've got my own fight to think about," Itauma told Sky Sports. "We're kind of similar styles, the likes of me and Usyk, we've kind of got a similar style so I feel like I'll be very beneficial for [Fury].
"It just compliments me [being asked to spar Fury]. It compliments me but listen, I'm not going to go there just to help him.
"I want to gauge my ability off his ability. Obviously I'm looking forward to [that]. If I don't want to be aiming to go there, what's the point of me being in this boxing game? I'm not here to mess around."
Itauma boasts a 10-0 record with eight wins by knockout. And the rest of Fury’s sparring partners are no slouches either.
The most notable name of the bunch is Kevin Lerena, who dropped Daniel Dubois three times during their meeting in 2022, before eventually losing out by stoppage. He was recently elevated to WBC bridgerweight champion – a new weight class formed between heavyweight and cruiserweight.
The rest of Fury's sparring team is made up of contenders Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-1), Fernely Feliz Jr (8-0), Alexis Barriere (11-0) and Aleksei Dronov (4-0). Dronov previously won gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games, Youth World Championships and European Youth Championships, while Barriere is the Canadian heavyweight champion.