WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury mocked former unified heavyweight champion and previous foe Wladimir Klitschko for advising his countryman, Oleksandr Usyk, on how to approach his upcoming fight with Fury on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) and unified champion Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) had been slated to fight in February, but Fury sustained a cut in a sparring session, postponing the contest.
Fury’s first reign as heavyweight world champion came in November of 2015, traveling to Düsseldorf, Germany, and successfully dethroning the previous long-reigning unified heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko by a unanimous decision.
In a recent interview with Seconds Out, Usyk admitted that he has been in contact with his countryman and former unified champion, who had offered advice on how to handle Fury.
“That would be very good advice, wouldn’t it? How to lose to the Gypsy King?” Fury joked.
“How can Wlad, my old mate, give anyone advice? He would have used it himself, wouldn’t he, if he had any idea how to beat me?
“It was a one-sided boxing lesson that I gave to old Wlad, and he was a very good champion, just like this guy [Usyk].”
“I said back then that if I can’t beat Wlad I must be useless. Again, I will say it again, ‘If I can’t be Usyk, then I must be no good,” Fury told the attending press. “That’s your headline.”
“If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, He [Fury] is no good. End of [story] because there is no point in pulling any punches about it.”