Round one - Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk defeated Briton Tyson Fury by split but well-deserved decision at the Royal Arena in Riyadh on May 18 and became the absolute boxing champion. Tonight, not before 23 p.m., a rematch is scheduled, but the IBF belt will not be at stake, since the Ukrainian "broke the deadline" for his defense in 45 days and it now belongs to the British heavyweight Daniel Dubois.
This, however, does not reduce the attention of the whole world to the spotlights of the now biggest boxing scene in Saudi Arabia - many already, except for the camp of the Ukrainian and his fans, want a trilogy to follow Klapa two!
- Third fight? In the match on December 21, I will beat Usik, and then there will be another fight. It will be a trilogy - said former world champion Fjuri, who suffered the only defeat in his career in the previous match against Usik.
Unlike the overture of the first suit, the King of the Gypsies was not in the mood to talk too much, but at the official training, which he immediately stopped, he threw to his rival and those gathered around the ring of the Royal Arena:
- All talks are over. I'm here alone to cause pain to Usika, and to throw a great party for you. And during the "stardown" (fight with looks) we were just silent and why would we talk all kinds of nonsense, because we are aware that none of that is important. It becomes important only when we face each other in the ring this evening - pointed out Fjuri.
And unlike the first match, when the incomparably physically superior Briton had an underestimating attitude towards Usik, this time he devoted himself to the preparation as much as possible. Insider information says that he didn't even talk to his wife for weeks, he brought the 191-centimeter-tall Zhan Kosobucki from Kazakhstan as a sparring partner.
But Usik was also preparing, who did not hide that during training he knew how to walk on his hands for 15 minutes, to dive for up to 10 minutes, so that he knew how to save his breath in case of intense pressure from the British mountain team.
- You can expect from me a similar style from the first fight, but certainly there are a few secrets and we will change a few things. It is necessary because this is a great opportunity for me and my country, but also because of the young people who look up to me and Tyson. My goal is for people to remember me in about 15 years as a boxer who beat Fury twice - said the champion, who noticed the rival's different approach:
- Tyson speaks incomparably less than before. Maybe he's changed, or it's part of his tactics, his game. But I don't care what he says about me. I have no other feelings towards him except respect - Usik commented on the fact that during the 10 minutes of the sterndown, the two did not speak a word.
Because of the rematch with Usik, he broke the deadline for the defense of the IBF belt, so since July he is no longer its owner, but since May 18 he was the first absolute champion after the British Lennox Lewis, who defeated the American Ivander Holyfield in 1999.
- We had a rematch contract for the first match as well, I don't want and we don't have the right to talk about earnings, but the fact is that both he and I have special additional contracts with the organizers from Saudi Arabia. There is an agreement that there is no talk about numbers - concluded the Ukrainian.
However, the information of "The Sportster" says that the fee will be distributed in a ratio of 60:40 in favor of Usik, who has a guaranteed 114 million dollars, and Fury "totally" 76. But these are guaranteed earnings without a percentage of paid broadcasts and other rights. In the first match, Fury had 70 percent of the total fee and without additional income from the match, he collected 105 million dollars.
And that even before the first match, the possibility of a third was left open, promoter Frank Warren revealed.
- If Tyson wins, there will be a third match. That's what it says in the contract, unless one of the two rivals retires - explained Warren.
And the head of the Saudi fund that organizes the biggest matches, Turki Al-Sheikh, revealed that the fight will be scored by artificial intelligence.
- For the first time, a referee with artificial intelligence will monitor the fight. Without bias and human error. An innovative expert who, however, does not affect the official result of the three judges, will be presented for the first time in the biggest fight of the century - announced Esh-Sheikh.
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