Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk were the pair who famously fought for the undisputed heavyweight title for the first time since 1999 and both delivered on what has to be considered as the Fight of the Year thus far and an instant heavyweight classic. Yet, despite pushing the much-lauded Ukrainian close, Fury and his corner have come under criticism and now one of the Briton’s sparring partners has responded to those comments.
After losing the opening couple of rounds, Tyson Fury appeared to take control of the contest from then onwards and seemed to be cruising towards his most legendary win. However, Usyk was able to capitalize on a lack of focus from ‘The Gypsy King’ and had just enough time to turn the tide in a timeless display that will live long in the memory.
As a result, members of Fury’s team have come under fire and confirmation that the former WBC champion will stick with the same corner as been met with raised eyebrows.
However, in an interview with Seconds Out, reigning IBF cruiserweight champion and former sparring partner of Fury’s, Jai Opetaia claimed that it would be ‘stupid’ for the imposing switch-hitter to make any drastic changes for the rematch.
“Everyone always wants to point the f***ing finger at someone when something goes wrong. ‘Oh, it is the corner’s fault, it is his fault or it is his fault’, mate, it is what it is. You lost a fight, go back to the gym and get better – as a team. If you keep changing your team just because something goes wrong, that is f***ing stupid in my eyes.
“Obviously, you have got to make the right [decisions] and correct certain things if something is not working in the team, but if they believe that they are a good team, then we can’t just sit here from the outside and go ‘ooh, he is having the same corner?’, like we know. You don’t know, you ain’t been in their camp. Nobody has been in their camp, nobody is a part of their team, you only see what you want to see and you only hear what they want you to hear.
“I am looking forward to this rematch, even when he was saying that he thought he was ahead and that he was getting too comfortable in there, maybe he can go a bit deeper, maybe he can push himself a bit further. I am excited to see it, it was a good fight the last one, so the second one should be even better.”
Usyk-Fury II was scheduled almost immediately after their first encounter, with the date of December 21st penned in for yet another Riyadh blockbuster under the stewardship of Turki Al-Alshikh. As fans await further details regarding the undercard, one additional bout is all-but-confirmed as another two heavyweights seek to steal the show before the main-event gets underway.
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