Tyson Fury has announced his readiness to face Oleksandr Usyk and revealed that he will pray for his Ukrainian opponent ahead of their highly anticipated and undisputed heavyweight clash on Saturday. The often unpredictable Mancunian made his brief remarks during a calm press appearance on Thursday, two days before what is being touted as the biggest fight of the century.
Lennox Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion in 1999, sat alongside Evander Holyfield, whom he defeated to unify the belts, in the front row as Fury spoke.
“I am ready. I have nothing to say except that I am ready for a great fight,” said the British fighter, who stepped onto the stage with his WBC belt.
“Whether it’s hard or easy, I am ready.”
Despite the fireworks in the background when Fury’s father, John, headbutted a member of Usyk’s entourage, both fighters refrained from the usual trash talk.
Speaking about Usyk, Fury said, “I will pray for him before we go out so that both of us can return to our families intact because that’s all that matters.”
Usyk, dressed in a white suit and tie, wrote a poem and tucked it into his pocket while waiting to speak.
“I am happy to be here, I am very excited,” Usyk said, declining to read the poem. “It’s my homework. It’s a poem,” he added, turning to Fury, “Let your fists do the talking in the ring.”
British boxer Lewis unified the WBC, WBA, and IBF belts with a victory over Holyfield, who was an undisputed champion in both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
Both Fury and Usyk—another converted cruiserweight who defeated Anthony Joshua to claim the IBF, WBA, and WBO belts—remain undefeated going into Saturday’s bout, the first undisputed fight in the four-belt era.
Standing at 6ft 9in (2.06m), Fury holds a record of 35-0-1 with 24 knockouts, while the 6ft 3in (1.91m) Usyk, an Olympic gold medalist with an illustrious amateur career, enters the fight with a record of 24-0 with 14 KOs.