Tyson Fury has made 'dramatic' change from Francis Ngannou fight as he steps up Oleksandr Usyk preparation

Tyson Fury has made 'dramatic' change from Francis Ngannou fight as he steps up Oleksandr Usyk preparation

WATCH NOW: Tyson Fury's black eye on show after postponing Oleksandr Usyk fight

Lewis Winter

By Lewis Winter


Published: 05/03/2024

- 15:38

The WBC heavyweight champion is preparing for his huge May bout

Tyson Fury has changed 'dramatically' from his last fight against Francis Ngannou and is now 'ready to go' against Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury's dad John claims his son is in a far better condition than he was last October and believes he will knock Usyk out in May.


Fury and Usyk will step into the ring for a huge undisputed fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18, three months after the original scheduled date.

The Gypsy King suffered a cut above his eye in sparring in early February, which saw the bout postponed from its February 17 date.

Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury's dad says he has made a dramatic change ahead of fighting Oleksandr Usyk

Getty

Fury looked to be in peak condition during his training camp before the unfortunate moment with Croatian heavyweight Agron Smakici.

The 35-year-old was far from his best in his last fight against Ngannou, where he was knocked down in the third round by the former MMA star.

It was Ngannou's first professional boxing match and many believe he was unlucky to not get the judges' decision.

Fury senior says his son needed to change 'dramatically', both mentally and physically from that bout.

Fans were excited by footage that emerged on Instagram this week of Fury looking in good shape as he steps up his preparations.

And his father believes he is now in a much better condition than he was on October 28 last year.

John Fury told Sky Sports: "He needed to change it around dramatically from last time. I don't know what went wrong, he didn't look himself physically or mentally he just wasn't there.

"All fighters have off nights. But he's got the bit between his teeth, he's training hard - I'm happy with him.

"I'm the biggest critic Tyson's got, if he's not right I'm gonna tell him because I'm not looking to keep a job - I'm looking to keep him a reigning world champion, so I'm gonna tell him how it is.

"He's got his weight down, he's ready to go. The cut was unfortunate because Usyk was going to face the best Tyson Fury."

Fury senior believes the fight against Ngannou has actually proved to be a positive for his son.

And he is confident he will knock Usyk out, adding: "The Ngannou fight stood him in good stead believe it or not.

"If he can get up off the floor from this serious banger like Ngannou, I don't see a problem.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS:

John Fury and Tyson Fury

John Fury says Tyson Fury is ready to go to fight Oleksandr Usyk

Getty

"But he's got to box. It's whit against whit, and it's who's the cleverest that's gonna win the fight.

"But when they do fight, Tyson's going to stop him around about eight or nine rounds."

Fury has already outlined his plans for the future after fighting Usyk, with a rematch on the cards with the Ukrainian as well as Ngannou.

But the long-awaited fight with Anthony Joshua is also on Fury's radar.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will battle it out on May 18 in Saudi Arabia

Getty

Joshua, who fights Ngannou on Friday, is confident a fight with Fury will be arranged in the near future.

He said on Good Morning Britain: "It is the golden question, I'd say sooner rather than later.

"It's in the pipeline, it's been bubbling for a long time and it has to happen.

"We are with you guys. We're talking about it, it's definitely going to happen sooner rather than later - mark my words."

You may like