WBC heavyweight champ Tyson Fury has never been shy when it comes to saying what he feels. And in a recent interview, “The Gypsy King” once again let loose with his true feelings on three-belt heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk and longtime rival (and former three-belt champ) Anthony Joshua.
“I’m looking to fight Usyk, Joshua’s nemesis,” Fury told IFL TV. “The man who’s got AJ’s kryptonite. The man who made him cry after the fight, like a little girl.
“I’m 18 stone’. So? I’m 20 stone. I’ll beat him. I’ll take that little sausage out. He ain’t got no kryptonite to me. He’s f*** all to me, the little f***er. I’m going to make him dance.”
Usyk beat Joshua for the IBF/WBA/WBO belts in September of 2021 and then beat him again in defense of his titles this past August. A Fury-Usyk full heavyweight unification bout was rumored for December, but eventually put off by Usyk, who wanted more time to recover and tend to family in his war-torn native Ukraine.
Fury would briefly– and very publicly– flirt with the idea of fighting former champ and fellow Brit Joshua, but negotiations fell apart quickly. Fury would then choose Derek Chisora as an opponent for his December 3 date– a challenge that turned out to be an easy-work evening for the defending champ.
“Usyk, you’re next you little b****. You are next,” Fury bellowed in a ringside Usyk’s face following his tenth-round stoppage of Chisora. “Me and you next. You’re next. Rabbit! P****! 15-stone little midget bodybuilder. Well, I ain’t a bodybuilder, I’m going to write you off. You ugly little man. Let’s get it on, b****.
“You may laugh now but I’ll end this lil’ sucker. I’ll end you. You little sucker. What are you gonna do? You’re gonna do f*** all, you little sausage.”
Since then, the notion of a Fury-Usyk four-belt unification bout has picked up steam with sanctioning bodies paving the way for the fight to happen and fans already debating the outcome on social media.
Joshua, however, does not appear to be in Fury’s plans at all. As a matter of fact, the big Irishman has vowed to never revisit the idea of facing “AJ” again and has gone out of his way to paint the former champ as a coward and a fraud.
Whatever the case, Joshua seems to be headed for a rebuild of sorts and some time off to get his head back in the game. With three losses in his last five contests, the former champ could certainly benefit from some time off to regroup and, perhaps, reconstruct a team around himself.
After Joshua’s first loss to Usyk in September of 2021, he let longtime trainer Robert McCracken go and promoted assistant Angel Fernandez to head trainer. He would also add veteran trainer Robert Garcia to his team.
Following the second loss to Usyk, he’s rumored to once again be looking to shake up his team. Hall of Famer Roy Jones has been mentioned as a possible future trainer.
Joshua’s state of mind had come into question following his loss to Usyk in August, when he threw a bit of a temper tantrum in the ring, tossing two of Usyk’s belts out of the ring in a fit and making some odd comments on the house mic.
He would also break down crying in the post-fight press conference, a moment of emotion reference by Fury in his most recent taunt.
With Fury-Usyk looking like a reality for the first half of 2023, fans can look forward to more salacious quotes from The Gypsy King and much more trash talking from the WBC champ’s side of the fence. Intrigue awaits.
