Tyson Fury addresses viral rumor about first Oleksandr Usyk fight ahead of rematch: "I did nothing wrong"

Heading into their rematch, Tyson Fury has opened up about the viral rumors regarding his first encounter against Oleksandr Usyk. 'The Gypsy King' clarified that he had a great training camp for their first fight, which is in stark contrast to the rumors about his troubles in that camp.

Their first clash transpired in May 2024, for Fury's WBC heavyweight title and Usyk's WBA (Super), WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles. Usyk almost knocked him out in round nine and won a closely contested split decision. He handed Fury his first pro boxing defeat and was crowned the undisputed heavyweight champion.

Earlier this year, rumors were rife that Tyson Fury's training camp was marred by troubles. Also, a cut above Fury's right eye, which had postponed that fight from February to May, had supposedly hurt his preparations.

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Presently, they're set to rematch this month. During their recent DAZN Boxing 'Face Off' segment, Fury was accompanied by his promoter Frank Warren and Usyk by his promoter Alexander Krassyuk.

Host Todd Grisham referenced the cut that purportedly hurt Fury's first camp. The ex-heavyweight kingpin responded:

"I don't make any excuses. It was a fantastic training camp. Never once have I ever said I had any problems in camp. Because I didn't. I've heard a lot of [*censored] talking sh** I had a lot of problems in camp. But I didn't have no problems. I had a fantastic training camp. He beat me fair and square."

Fury reiterated that Usyk deserves his props and that a fighter mustn't use supposedly subpar food or other such minor elements as excuses for a loss. Implying that he hasn't changed much for his training camp for the rematch, he said:

"There's no more talking to be saying, 'Oh, well, I did this wrong. I did that wrong.' I did nothing wrong. I did everything good. So did he. He got the decision; a split decision, cat's whisker in it. If I would've got the decision, great. He got the decision, fantastic. There's not much to say, isn't it? You know, am I going to go and change everything in me camp because I lost a split decision? Hell no."

Watch Tyson Fury's assessment below (5:39):

John Fury warned about Tyson Fury's alleged training camp troubles before first fight against Oleksandr Usyk

Speaking to Seconds Out in December 2023, Tyson Fury's father, trainer and ex-boxer John Fury, indicated that his son's training camp paled in comparison to Usyk's disciplined camp heading into their first encounter. John criticized the people around Tyson -- seemingly alluding to head coach SugarHill Steward:

"His training's in decline and his camp's in a bigger decline. It's not a camp. It's a circus."

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The undefeated Oleksandr Usyk vacated his IBF title earlier this year. His undisputed title reign thereby ended, as he holds only three WBA, WBC, WBO belts.

Usyk is scheduled to defend his titles in a rematch against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 21, 2024.

About the author

Johny Payne is a featured writer at Sportskeeda, specializing in MMA coverage. He also studies and trains in various martial arts, constantly seeking to enhance his combat skills, especially in unarmed combat. His love for writing about MMA stems from his appreciation of the sport as one of the purest forms of legal unarmed combat sports competition in this day and age. Johny has also covered pro wrestling in the past.

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Edited by Tejas Rathi