Tyson Fury plans to spar with soccer legend for Oleksandr Usyk fight

Tyson Fury is seemingly serious about sparring with Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney in preparation for his fight with Oleksandr Usyk.

'The Gypsy King' was recently interviewed by iFL TV backstage at one of his shows. During the interaction, he detailed how he’s going to prepare for his undisputed heavyweight fight, which is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2023.

When asked about sparring with Rooney, the WBC Heavyweight Champion said:

“It’s absolutely concrete, Rooney is coming to camp Fury in Morecambe to help me out for the Usyk fight”

EnterWayne Rooney celebrates a goal, Manchester United v Arsenal - FA Cup Quarter Final 2009 caption

When asked if his remarks were simply in jest or if he's serious about sparring the for footballer in preparation for a heavyweight title fight, the undefeated fighter doubled down on these remarks:

“I’m getting Wayne in for sparring for Usyk, ‘cause he’s small and nippy. Why does it matter? From one professional athlete to another, I don’t think it really matters”

The Manchester-born fighter further explained how Rooney and Usyk are similarly built and move alike, suggesting it doesn’t really matter whether he’s a professional fighter or not.

Check out the full interview below:

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Negotiations for Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk continue

Fury vs. Usyk is reportedly in its final stages of negotiations. The two Heavyweight Champions are expected to fight in early 2023 in a unification bout.

When asked about his fight with Usyk, Tyson Fury said:

“Hopefully, that’s the fight I want. That’s the fight the world wants. If Usyk ain’t next then I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I really wanna fight Usyk, they [Usyk’s team] were calling for it last year and we offered the fight for December, they didn’t take it so we’ll see what the new year will bring”

Fury (L) and Usyk (R) face off , Boxing in London - Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora

Things could take a turn with the WBA ordering Daniel Dubois to be a mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBA (Super) Heavyweight Championship. The aim of the WBA is to determine one heavyweight champion for their organization, since Dubois is the WBA (Regular) Champion

If the ruling stands, then Usyk would have to face Dubois first, closely followed by the IBF’s mandatory challenger, Filip Hrgovic, and then WBO interim champion Joe Joyce, since all organizations will likely insist on facing mandatories if Usyk fights Dubois.

The line of title challengers is long for the Ukrainian, meaning 'The Gypsy King' Tyson Fury might just have to wait.