Tyson Fury did virtually nothing during today's public in-ring training in Riyadh ahead of his rematch with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King looked like a grumpy Fallen king, not a happy camper. Fury might not be happy with many fans giving no chance of winning the rematch against Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) on Saturday night.
So, to repay them, he holds back, doesn't give of himself and shows classic passive-aggressive behavior. It's so easy to read Fury.
Minimal movement
Fury's actions today came down to these four things:
- He entered the ring and took off his jacket
- Put on your gloves
- I took them off
- A few words before leaving the ring
All the fans and media who came today to watch former WBC heavyweight champion Fury train had very little to see as he turned down his moves and behavior.
From Fury's perspective, it's understandable that he doesn't want to waste energy working or giving away anything that Usyk (22-0, 14 KO) might glean.
Fury is almost 37 years old and he can't afford to use up his precious energy during training because he'll need all he can to move his massive 6'9″ frame around the ring Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena.
Silent treatment
It's the sign of an older fighter when he conserves his energy during the final public workouts of his fight week. Young fighters use their time to work hard, impress fans and media, and stay flexible.
Fury looked haggard and exhausted this week, after recovering from a tough training camp and a bad beating last May in his loss to Usyk. This fight took a lot out of Fury, leaving him in the devastated physical state we saw this week.
“A lot of pain,” Tyson Fury said when asked after today's public workout what fans can expect Saturday night for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk. “Crush and damage.”
“A lot of pain,” Fury said when asked by DAZN's Claudia Trejo if he planned to be clean-shaven on Saturday. “Injured, seriously injured. Lots of damage.
During the interview, she wanted more from Fury but wasn't willing to give it. At that moment, he looked almost childish. It was hard to watch this interview without feeling sorry for Trejo.
Fury couldn't even speak. You can also read this as a sign that he wants to save his precious energy for fighting, since even talking uses fuel. When you have to have every ounce of strength, talking can be too much to ask of Fury. Looking at the minimalist approach to training and interview, you can see now that the loss to Usyk affected Fury deeply.
Fury didn't just ignore him like he said. He is mortally wounded, like a soldier in shock returning from the front, unable to forget what happened and upset at not having given more during the battle. This is much worse than a soldier suffering mentally from combat fatigue after being bombed. These are the ones who know they should have done more, but they lost their nerve.
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 promoter Alex Krassyuk said of Tyson Fury while watching him during his public workI'm not in the ring today.
“He probably realized that messing up, wasting his energy on the media and making fun of his training camp is not the best idea. This time he stayed serious like a monk,” Krassyuk said of Fury. “Most likely he will try to make some corrections to his technique and tactics.
“I expect it to be a much more dramatic fight than the first one. Oleksandr Usyk was still under his skin. Tyson tried to do it with Oleksandr, but he had an advantage. He does not speak English fluently. We have a saying in Ukraine. “The bigger the cabinet, the louder the sound when it falls.”
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