Tyson Fury has claimed he’ll use an unlikely sparring partner in his quest to hand Oleksandr Usyk the first defeat of his career and become undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Although contracts haven’t been signed, ‘The Gypsy King’ is confident that on April 29 at Wembley Stadium his WBC belt will be on the line against Usyk’s IBF, WBO and WBA.
The Ukrainian’s promoter recently said that he believed Fury is bluffing about wanting the fight, and pointed to the fact that his trainer, SugarHill Steward, wasn’t in the country and that no sparring partners were lined up.
Well, Fury has responded to that – although how seriously fans decide to take him will be up to them, as he’s named Super Lightweight World Champion and currently-injured, Josh Taylor, as the secret weapon in camp.
He announced the news via Instagram.
“Second session of the day finished. Brutalised. Second session of the day. I got some big, big, big news to announce. I’m about to bring in my sparring partner Josh ‘The Tartan Tornado’ Taylor. He’s coming in next week to start sparring for the b**ch Usyk.
Cannot wait. Training camp’s going fantastic. I can’t remember in recent memory ever having a better camp. Absolutely on fire.”
Taylor’s torn plantar fascia saw his March 4 bout with Jack Catterall cancelled due to an inability to train, and his latest update just a week ago showed him tentatively back to ‘static punching.’
Going into sparring with the 270lb heavyweight champion of the world seems a stretch for many reasons, and certainly not the best way to recover from a foot injury.
If Fury isn’t bluffing about the recently undisputed world champion stopping by his Morecambe gym, it may be for drills in dealing with speed and movement, something Usyk has held onto from his days at cruiserweight.
Still, probably not – even despite all of Fury’s claims that his opponent is nothing but a ‘middleweight.’
Negotiations have been back and forth this week, with Usyk’s side convinced things will fall through but Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, remaining adamant that it will go ahead as planned.