Fury will have the chance to win back a portion of the heavyweight championship of the world when he faces Ukrainian star Usyk for a second time on December 21.
An insider in Tyson Fury’s team is confident that the Gypsy King can avenge his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk by taking the fight to the undisputed champion in their highly anticipated rematch later this year.
On May 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 35-year-old was handed the first loss of his professional career after being on the end of a split decision defeat to Usyk, who has now won all four major belts in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Fury has now exercised his right to call for a rematch, with Saudi royal advisor and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority Turki Al-Sheikh confirming that the two boxers will share the ring for a second time in the Kingdom on Saturday, December 21.
And current IBF and Ring Magazine cruiserweight world champion Jai Opetaia, who sparred Fury in the build-up to his showdown with fellow southpaw Usyk, believes the British star can emerge victorious with a more aggressive approach. In an interview with Seconds Out, he said: “I think he’s just gotta be more active. He’s gotta want to win and just go for it a bit more.
You can let him steal the rounds like he was. I don’t think [Fury] disrespected [Usyk’s power], but I wasn’t expecting [Usyk] to hurt him like the way he did. I was expecting it to be a full-on boxing match the whole time, a lot more punches to be thrown.”
The undefeated Australian fighter, who has won 19 of his 25 contests by knockout also says he would be more than willing to help out Fury with his preparations for the rematch. He added: “Yeah, man, if they need me in there… Obviously I’m gonna have to work [for] who I’m fighting against if it’s on the same card. If I’m not fighting on the same card, I’m happy to go in there and help out. It’s always a good experience to be around other world class athletes.”
