Tyson Fury has vowed to be more focused in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk but does not believe his showboating cost him the decision in their first fight.
The Briton on Saturday will attempt to avenge his split decision loss to Usyk in their first meeting in May that saw the Ukrainian become the heavyweight division's first unified champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
Fury dominated the middle rounds but some believe he paid the price for his frequent grandstanding when he was on top of proceedings.
The ‘Gypsy King’ insists his swagger was a result of finding the fight too easy but he is now ready to heed the advice of promoter Frank Warren and “get down to business” when the pair meet again at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena.
“I don’t believe the showboating cost me the fight but I need to be more focused this time and not do as much,” Fury said.
“One of the commentators picked up on it and said, ‘has anybody ever seen Tyson Fury clown this much, even against lower level opposition?’.
“That’s how easy it was for me in there and you can get complacent because of that.”
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Oleksandr Usyk celebrates with the belts after beating Tyson Fury to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on May 18, 2024. Reuters -
Oleksandr Usyk and his team await the judges' decision after his fight with Tyson Fury. Reuters -
Tyson Fury throws a jab at Oleksandr Usyk during their undisputed world title fight in Riyadh. AFP -
Tyson Fury leans on the ropes and attempts to taunt Oleksandr Usyk. Reuters -
Oleksandr Usyk lands a left hook on Tyson Fury during their fight in Riyadh. Reuters -
Oleksandr Usyk has Tyson Fury hurt on the ropes during the ninth round of their world title fight. AP -
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk trade blows during their undisputed heavyweight world championship boxing fight. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk goes on the attack after rocking Tyson Fury in the ninth round. PA -
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk both land punches during their undisputed world title fight. AP -
Oleksandr Usyk lunges forward to land a jab on Tyson Fury. EPA -
Oleksandr Usyk makes his ring walk for his undisputed heavyweight world title fight against Tyson Fury. AFP -
Tyson Fury makes his walk to the ring to fight Oleksandr Usyk. Reuters
Fury is still convinced he won a classic first fight that was full of momentum swings and claims he will therefore adopt the same tactics.
He looked close to stopping Usyk in the sixth round but the Ukrainian showed his resilience to turn the contest on its head, initially by landing a hard shot on Fury’s nose in the eighth and then by overwhelming him in the ninth.
“I’m just going to use my boxing, like I did last time. I’m not going to do anything drastic, like a total change of game plan because it’s not needed,” Fury said.
“If it was five, six or seven rounds the opposite way and it was a landslide, then fine. Then I’d have to change something drastically.
“But because it was a very close fight, I don’t really need to change much. I just need to be a little bit more focused and that’s it really.
“Why would I change something when I had control of the fight for maybe 80 per cent of it?
“I’m landing on him at will, head and body, lead right uppercuts, left hooks, right hooks to the body. Doubles at times. I don’t feel I need to change anything.
“I don’t think Usyk will change either because his key to victory has to be coming forward. He ain’t going to outbox me on the back foot. It’s not possible. So he has to come forward and make a fight of it.”
May's defeat to Usyk was the first of Fury's 36-fight career and also saw the Ukrainian become the first fighter in history to have unified both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
Fury said he had watched their first battle “a hundred times”, starting with an immediate viewing on the flight home from Riyadh in May.
“You can say ‘I woulda, shoulda, coulda’ but you can’t reverse it. It was my best performance in the last five years, probably more. Before [the ninth round] I boxed unbelievable. I thought Usyk did good as well. That’s the best I’ve ever seen Usyk box," Fury said.
Fury maintains that the first fight “was close, but I thought I did enough to win it. I’ve met people who’ve said: ‘I thought you lost it by a round'. Other people have said: ‘I thought it was a draw’. I’ve met people who said, ‘I thought you nicked it by a couple’.”
Another feature of the first fight was the chaos in Fury’s corner in between later rounds with trainer SugarHill Steward, second Andy Lee and dad John each giving different advice.
“There was no confusion at all. You could have Angelo Dundee, Ray Arcel, Emanuel Steward, everyone in that corner – it doesn’t mean anything,” Fury said.
