Riyadh Ready: Tyson Fury Talks Ahead of Undisputed Heavyweight Clash

By Cormac O Donell

Tyson Fury, the towering figure in the world of heavyweight boxing, has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of his monumental undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

11 days out from potentially unifying all four heavyweight belts, Fury’s thoughts are a mix of excitement, determination and as ever – his unique brand of self-confidence.

“To win them all back again, it’d be fantastic, you know, to get them all under one banner again for the first time in 25 years,” says Fury, acknowledging the significance of the moment.

“There’s been a few heavyweight champions in that 25 years who haven’t managed to get the undisputed since Lewis and Holyfield fight.

So it’s a very special moment, especially for heavyweight boxing to have all the belts on one line and two undefeated champions fighting each other for all the belts.”

Fury’s reflections extend beyond the ring, emphasising the impact of Saudi Arabia’s involvement in staging this generational event.

Indeed, the WBC Champion went on to reveal that were it not for the intervention of H.E. Turki Alalshikh – he may have retired from boxing completely.

“I’ve said it many, many times, if Turki didn’t come for me to take me to Saudi, then I would be retired by now and I don’t know what I’d be doing.

I’m actually going to give all the belts to Turki Alalshikh as a present from me to him to say thank you.

Just such a down to earth lovely guy, you know, a massive, massive boxing fan. To have someone so influential with so much power and movement in the game is awesome.

Tyson Fury acknowledges Usyk’s abilities and achievements; respecting him not only as a formidable opponent in the ring – but also as a man of strong principals.

In many ways, both men hold very similar ideals; a quality which should add further tension to the mix on May 18th.

“Usyk’s a bad man, you know, he’s a real bad man – any underestimation of Oleksandr Usyk, you’d be a mug.” Fury asserts.

“He’s been an Olympic champion. He’s had 350 amateur fights or something, and he’s been an undisputed cruiserweight champion. And he is a unified heavyweight champion – so you have to respect that.”

“I’m messing with an elite, elite fighter who’s got boxing ability and more than that; he’s stubborn and he wants to win like I do.”

Ultimately, Tyson Fury feels that the outcome of the fight will boil down to a question of will trumping skill.

“We both have talent, we both have good attributes and bad attributes, and it will come down to who wants it the most on the night.”

It won’t come down to, oh, he’s bigger than me, he’s smaller than me, this, that and the other. I think it will come down to who wants it most on the night, and if he wants it more than me, then he’ll win.

I just think that my will and determination will be more than his on the night.”

Regardless of the outcome, fans are in for a treat as two elite champions square off in pursuit of undisputed glory.

As Tyson aptly puts it: “Either way, I think we’re in for a real treat.”