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Mike Coppinger, ESPN
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Tyson Fury delivered a lackluster performance vs. Francis Ngannou in October, but “The Gypsy King” appeared in far better shape during Friday’s weigh-in at 262 pounds ahead of his undisputed heavyweight championship fight vs. Oleksandr Usyk.
England’s Fury was 277.5 pounds when he was floored by the former UFC heavyweight champion, a split-decision victory in a non-title bout. Fury’s 262 pounds are his lowest since he defeated Otto Wall in September 2019 at 254 pounds.
Usyk, meanwhile, weighed a career-high 233.5 pounds. His previous high was 221.5 pounds when he defeated Anthony Joshua in the August 2022 rematch. They were both shirtless and wearing pants (there is no weight limit for heavyweights in boxing.)
After the fighters tipped the scales, Fury and Usyk engaged in a heated shoving match on the stage at the outdoor BLVD City in Saudi Arabia’s capital.
“I’m ready to rock and roll,” Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) said. “Fireworks tomorrow night. I’m going to knock that f—er spark out. I’m coming for his heart. That’s what I’m coming for. F— his belts. I’m coming for his f—ing heart.”
Saturday’s meeting (noon ET, ESPN+ pay-per-view) features ESPN’s top two heavyweights (Fury is No. 1) and also two of the 10 best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. Fury is No. 10 on ESPN’s list; Usyk, an Olympic gold medalist, is No. 3.
The former undisputed cruiserweight champion cleaned out the 200-pound weight class and then went on to collect the WBA, WBO and IBF titles with a pair of wins over Joshua.
Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), 37, will be competing at heavyweight for the sixth time. He’s coming off a ninth-round KO victory over Daniel Dubois in August.
“Don’t be afraid,” Usyk said he told Fury, 35, during their faceoff. “I will not leave you alone tomorrow.”
Usyk, who lives in war-torn Ukraine, said he’s able to stay calm in the face of Fury’s antics because “if I will be nervous, I will not win.” Throughout the promotion — the fight was originally scheduled for Feb. 17 before Fury suffered a severe cut in sparring — Usyk has laughed off Fury’s attempts at mind games.
On Saturday, Usyk will face a far tougher task: handing Fury his first loss. Usyk has defeated elite big men before, such as Joshua, but never someone with the size and skill of Fury. Fury is listed at 6-foot-9 with an 85-inch reach. He’s also able to box from both the southpaw and orthodox stances.
Usyk, a southpaw, is 6-foot-3 with a 78-inch reach. This is the first undisputed heavyweight championship fight since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in November 1999. Both were in the front row at the weigh-in, alongside heavyweight greats Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv.
Fury will put his WBC and lineal championship on the line. Fury has been boxing’s heavyweight lineal champion since he upset Klitschko in 2015.