Tyson Fury is a master of mind games and his latest trick was to refuse to look at Oleksandr Usyk during their head to head, a move he has now explained.
Fury has managed to get inside the head of his opponents better than anyone else before. Back when he dethroned Wladimir Klitschko to his maiden world title in particular he pulled off a mental masterstroke that unsettled the long reign champion.
From wearing a batman suit at the press conference to threatening to walk away from the fight on the night itself if the ring canvas wasn’t changed, he very much threw the build up into confusion.
With Usyk, he has been less able to wind up his opponent, in part because Usyk’s English means there is something of a language barrier, but also because the Ukrainian is one of the most cool and collected customers in the sport right now.
Now, Fury took the decision to utterly ignore Usyk and refused to even look at him during one stare down for the media.
Speaking to Sky Sports he explained why in a rather tongue in cheek fashion.
“He’s a scary looking dude.”
It was put to him that camp is over and now his job is to stay clam.
“Yeah, I’m just here to be relaxed now, I’m just waiting to get in the ring on Saturday night. All the talking’s done, all the interviews are done. I’m really relaxed and focussed.”
He was then asked when he flips the switch to get into fight mode.
“Whenever, whenever I decide to.”
Fury’s father has remained less calm and started the week off by head-butting a member of team Usyk when members from both fighters’ entourage clashed in the lobby of a hotel in Saudi Arabia.
That will no doubt add extra motivation for Usyk, who is the WBA, WBO and IBF champion looking to become the first undisputed king of the heavyweights since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
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