Fury vs Usyk 2 LIVE: Latest news and weigh-in updates after absurdly long face-off – UK Times

Fury expects to be more than a stone heavier against Usyk on Saturday than he was in May.

“[I’m] about 20st (280lb) at the moment, just over,” Fury told Sky Sports, before saying it will give him “more power in the punches”.

When asked whether his best performances have come at heavier weights, the Briton added: “I think so, yeah. When a 20st man hits you on the jaw, compared to a man at 17st, it’s a bit different for sure. I’m gonna beat him that bad on Saturday, he ain’t gonna want a rematch – but listen, I think people do a lot of stuff for a right few quid, don’t they? So, crazier things have happened.”

Fury claims he’s been away from his wife Paris and cut off communication with his family entirely, while focusing on his rematch with Usyk.

“I’ve not spoken to Paris for three months,” Fury told TNT Sports. “Not a word, not spoke to anyone, not been on my phone, I’ve been away from it all. I just wanted to give myself the best opportunity I can.

“I don’t want to keep dividing modes from beast mode, to Dad mode, wife mode, I’ve not spoken to anybody on the phone, that’s it. I’ve just been in the camp the whole time. It’s difficult to keep switching. I’ve not spoken to anybody on the phone. Anybody who has called me has not been successful in getting hold of me in the last couple of months.

“I give up coffee for seven or eight weeks, Diet Cokes for the same amount of time, I don’t think it matters. I’ve taken vitamins for 12 months, came off them for 12 months, didn’t feel anything. I don’t think any of it makes a difference, not having certain things or doing certain things. It’s the goal for the individual to achieve.

“Just be happy and that’s all you can do. The hardest thing in the world is to stay in the moment. Not push for more or want more. Everybody is always pushing for more. Even I’m pushing for more, everybody is.”

The heavyweight rematch between Fury and Usyk will feature scoring from a fourth ‘judge’ powered by artificial intelligence.

Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced the implementation of the AI judge in a post on X, adding that it is an “experiment” which “won’t impact the official results”.

“For the first time ever, an AI-powered judge will monitor the fight”, said the post. “Free from bias and human error brought to you by The Ring. This groundbreaking experiment, which won’t impact the official results, debuts during the biggest fight of the century.”

The announcement is sure to split opinion in a sport that has long been affected by controversial judges’ decisions, with some fans on social media welcoming the decision.

All the talking finally stopped, and nobody will ever forget round nine of the first fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury in Riyadh back in May.

Fury was hit from corner to corner, reeling, out on his feet, wide-eyed but defiant, and Usyk chased him like an animal pursuing wounded prey. It was a minute of total boxing madness; Fury survived the round and was still standing at the end of the 12 rounds. Usyk got the verdict, Usyk became the first undisputed world heavyweight champion for 25 years and on Saturday, back in Riyadh, Usyk will enter the ring as the king. And being king is never easy in the boxing business.

Usyk and Fury have both promised a new and improved version for their rematch; they have each talked about adjustments once the first bell sounds at the Kingdom Arena in the latest of the Riyadh Season of fights. Fury has talked about being more serious and Usyk has talked about doing more of the same, just doing it better. They probably both worked out a way to win during the first fight, which was a slender split decision in the end.

Steve Bunce on Fury vs Usyk 1, and the role of age in their rematch:

Yesterday’s press conference followed Wednesday’s open workouts.

They, too, were intriguing, as Fury laced up his gloves but refused to throw a single punch… before Usyk shadow boxed and danced around the ring.

There was some major news, though: Fury’s head coach, Sugarhill Steward, claimed that the boxer’s father, John, has been axed from their corner team…

Welcome back to our Usyk vs Fury 2 fight-week blog! It feels slightly surreal to say, but fight night is tomorrow…

A huge rematch in Saudi Arabia, as Fury tries to avenge his sole professional loss and take the unified heavyweight belts from Usyk.

At 5pm GMT today, we’ll have the weigh-in, but first, let’s take a look at what happened at yesterday’s press conference.

Little was said before Fury and Usyk faced off for TWELVE, WHOLE, MINUTES.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more build-up to Usyk vs Fury 2, and live updates from the weigh-in.

Here’s the full rundown on what was said, and what happened, at today’s press conference.

The event was less about what was said, in truth, and more about that absurdly long face-off…

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman arrived at the seven-minute mark to try to separate the boxers. No luck.

Nine minutes gone now, and the rivals have started talking. Fury, as you’d expect, is doing most of the barking.

Ten minutes gone, and some bodies are trying to take Fury away. He’s having none of it.

At 12 minutes, they FINALLY separate! Wow…