Tyson Fury's mind is no longer on boxing and he has a 'big problem' ahead of his upcoming fight with Oleksandr Usyk, it has been claimed.
The duo had originally been due to face each other in Saudi Arabia on December 17.
However, with Fury needing more time to recover from his victory over Francis Ngannou, that led to a postponement.
The 35-year-old was alarmingly poor during that win, coming out on top via split decision having been knocked down in round three.
Tyson Fury's mind is 'no longer on boxing' according to Zhilei Zhang
PA
He'll need to be better than that if he's to get the better of Usyk, who is considered one of the best heavyweights at the current moment in time.
And Chinese boxer Zhilei Zhang has expressed a belief that Fury isn't focused enough on boxing right now.
As a result, he feels the Gypsy King has a 'big problem'.
"I think it is simple, Fury didn’t train for this fight [against Ngannou]," he told The Metro, via Freebets.com.
"To be honest with you, he is not the version we are used to seeing.
"I can see his mindset is not in boxing at the moment, he is doing commercial things, he is doing PR, marketing, different things, but not boxing.
"And in this business, you can’t really fool yourself. You can’t fool training.
"After the fight [against Ngannou] in his press conference and interviews he said he had a good training camp for that fight.
"If that is the case, he has a very big problem going into the Usyk fight."
Zhang was also asked if he'd prefer to fight Fury or Usyk.
He went with the Briton, while also sending a message to the veteran.
"I hope it is Tyson Fury," he said.
"And I want to tell him: My brother, train hard and do the right thing and get four belts and give them back to me when I see you in the ring."
Fury and Usyk recently confirmed a new date for their fight at a special event in London.
But despite the battle being due to take place in February, Carl Froch thinks it'll be pushed back.
“Listen, Tyson’s got to get through Christmas and New Year, not relax, not have a drink, not overeat," said the 46-year-old.
“It’s going to be a tough one.
"He’s got a wonderful family, his wife and seven children, so he’ll want to relax and have a good time.
“Is he going to want to be training over Christmas and New Year which he’s going to have to do if he’s ready for the February event?
"I’m not sure, I think the fight will be pushed back to March.
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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet on February 17
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"You heard it here first.”
Fury has won 34 of his 35 career fights as the Usyk showdown creeps closer.
Usyk, meanwhile, is undefeated from all 21 of his own bouts.