Tyson Fury has started throwing verbal shots at Oleksandr Usyk – claiming he could beat the Ukrainian after 15 pints of Peroni.
Fury and Usyk will finally meet in their delayed heavyweight unification showdown in Riyadh on May 18. As he faced the media in a press conference at Morecambe FC, the Gypsy King was broadly respectful of Usyk, whom he was originally due to face in February before a cut suffered in sparring held up the long-awaited bout.
However, Fury couldn’t resist a cheeky barb at the former cruiserweight, insisting he could enter the ring after a heavy drinking session and still win the fight. He said: “I think, if I didn’t train at all for this camp, just come in at 25st and sank maybe 15 pints of Peroni beforehand, the next day, what’s he going to do? Jib-jab me around?
“Take nothing away from him, but he couldn’t do nothing with Derek Chisora. It was a 50/50 fight, [it] could’ve gone either way. So not unless, at 38, 39-year-old (Usyk is actually 37), he’s come on leaps and bounds in the last two years…”
But Fury insisted he holds no ill will towards Usyk, saying: “It’s not personal, it’s strictly business for both fighters. There’s a lot of stuff on the line, but I don’t hate him, he don’t hate me.
Meanwhile, Fury has jokingly mapped out his next ten fights in what would be music to Anthony Joshua’s ears.
He said with a beaming grin: “So I’ll map out my next ten fights then let’s go. Usyk twice, then we will have Anthony Joshua twice if he doesn’t get beaten in the meantime.