This year’s undisputed showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will live long in the memory as a classic heavyweight battle and fans are hoping that their second meeting will deliver something similar. Now two months away from the rematch, Fury has provided his rival an additional incentive to defend his titles.
Usyk went to war with ‘The Gypsy King’ back in May in a first ever four-belt heavyweight contest and a first undisputed bout in the division since 1999.
After the Brit’s success in the mid-rounds, the Ukrainian was able to turn the tides and almost scored a knockout win but instead settled for a famous split-decision victory, joining Evander Holyfield in an elite club as he became the second man to have become undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.
Yet, despite the much-lauded accolades of Usyk, it is Tyson Fury who remains alongside Canelo Alvarez as the cover stars of the upcoming ‘Undisputed’ boxing video game, which hits consoles this weekend.
Speaking with Paul Dempsey, Fury revealed that he will allow Usyk to become the cover star of the game if he is trumped by the 37-year-old southpaw for a second time.
“I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. If I don’t win this rematch, I’m going to relinquish that front cover and give it to Oleksandr. That’s what I’ll do with the front cover. I’ll relinquish my right to be on that front cover and I’ll give it to Oleksandr ‘The Great.’
“But if I do, what I think I’m going to do, then I’ll keep the front cover. If I don’t beat him in the rematch, then I don’t deserve to be on that front, he does.”
However, Fury is not expecting that he will need to fulfil his promise and has recently revealed to TNT Sports that he intends to avenge the lone defeat of his career with a win without the judges’ intervention.
“I’m going to go in there with ‘destroy mode’. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious. I boxed the head right off him. Let’s talk facts. Anyone can get caught, as we’ve seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights. But this time I’m not going for a points decision. I’m going to knock a m**********r out!”
‘Undisputed’ is available for purchase on October 11th with Canelo the face of the standard version of the game and Fury starring on the deluxe WBC version.
Meanwhile, Fury-Usyk II will take place on December 21st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as Turki Al-Alshikh finishes a breakthrough year with a bang.
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