Sitting ringside, Oleksandr Usyk was genuinely concerned watching Tyson Fury struggle to beat Francis Ngannou.
Fury, who holds the WBC heavyweight title, won aagainst Francis Ngannou this past Saturday in Saudi Arabia. This was a crossover boxing match between Fury, who’s considered by many the best heavyweight boxer of his generation, and Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion who had never boxed professionally.and bruising him over the course of their 10-round fight. Many were on the edge of their seats given the potential of a massive upset playing out. However, for Usyk, it was a different story.
“It was encouragement, ‘Move! Jab, jab! Please!,'” Usyk said, recalling rooting for his future rival Fury while ring side. “It was all words of encouragement, especially looking forward to the next fight. I wanted him to get through it so we can finally have our own fight.” Fury and Usyk were in talks to fight Dec. 23. However, given the knockdown and a cut sustained by Fury, it seems unlikely that the fight will go down before the end of this year. Usyk admits he was a bit frustrated by the situation.
“They’re using any excuse to blame me for not being ready, and they keep extending, but that isn’t the case,” Usyk said. “Fury has to show up and has to fight. Now they’re saying that Tyson might not be ready for it, so the tables have turned. Maybe consider they’re the ones that are talking too much, and maybe nothing is going to happen.”
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