Tyson Fury did essentially nothing during today’s public ring workout in Riyadh ahead of his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King looked and sounded like a grumpy a fallen king, not a happy camper. Fury may not be happy with the number of fans who aren’t giving him any chance of winning his rematch against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday night. So, to give them back, he holds back, doesn’t give of himself and shows the classics passive-aggressive behavior. It’s so easy to read Fury.
Minimal movement
Fury’s actions today came down to these four things:
- Entered the ring and took off his jacket
- Put gloves on him
- Took them off
- A few words before leaving the bell
For all the fans and media who came out to watch former WBC Heavyweight Champion Fury train today, there was very little left to see as he maintained his movement and demeanor.
From Fury’s point of view, it’s understandable that he didn’t want to waste energy working or giving away anything Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) could muster. Fury is approaching 37 years old and can’t afford to use up his precious energy during training because he’ll need everything he can get to move his hulking 6’9″ frame around the ring Saturday night at Kingdom Arena.
Silent Treatment
It’s a sign of an older fighter when they conserve energy during the last public training sessions of their fight week. Younger fighters use the time to work hard, impress the fans and media, and stay single. Fury looked drained and drained this week from a grueling training camp and a bad loss to Usyk last May.
“A lot of pain,” Tyson Fury said when asked after today’s public workout what fans can expect Saturday night for his fight against Alexander Usyk. “Breaking and Damage.”
“A lot of hurt,” Fury said when asked by DAZN’s Claudio Trejo if he planned to be shaved on Saturday. “Injured, seriously injured.” A lot of damage.”
Interestingly, Fury couldn’t even bring himself to speak. You can also read that as a sign that he wants to save his precious energy for fighting because even talking uses up fuel. When you have to have every ounce of strength, talking might take too much from Fury.
Serious As A Monk
“I see a completely different Tyson Fury.” He doesn’t play anymore. We don’t see him smiling. This man probably did his homework,” Usyk’s promoter Alex Krasyuk said of Tyson Fury as he watched him during public workt today in the ring.
“He probably realized that spoiling, wasting energy in the media and making fun of his training camp wasn’t the best idea.” This time he was as serious as a monk,” Krasjuk said of Fury. “He will most likely try to make some adjustments in his technique and tactics.”
“I expect it to be a much more dramatic fight than the first one.” Oleksandar Usik was always under his skin. Tyson tried to do it with Alexander, but he was outmatched. He doesn’t speak English fluently. In Ukraine we have a saying. ‘The bigger the wardrobe, the louder the noise when it falls.’
