Written by Tyson Fury is no stranger to long faceoffs, but the one with Oleksandr Usyk at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference took things to a new level.
Ahead of Saturday’s heavyweight rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the pair got up close with each other and soaked in every bit of the moment. And that’s not an exaggeration.
The faceoff between Usyk and Fury dragged on and on for roughly 8 minutes. Both men were intense as they locked eyes and settled into the scene, with neither willing to budge. At one point, the live stream even cut away from the faceoff to show festivities happening outside the venue.
Usyk and Fury finally exchanged some words on the tail end of the extended staredown, and at last they were ushered away from each other and off the stage.
SOME STAREDOWN
First 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛𝙛 of fight week #Usyk2Fury | #RiyadhSeason | Dec 21, live on DAZN | Click link in bio to buy | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/Cb7hduSe2w
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 19, 2024
VERBALS #Usyk2Fury | #RiyadhSeason | Dec 21, live on DAZN | Click link in bio to buy | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/3LwKhGp8C8
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 19, 2024
It was unusual but also showed how locked in Usyk and Fury both are as they go into a second encounter that will have significant influence on the debate of who is the greatest heavyweight boxer.
Usyk earned a hotly-contested split decision win over Fury to become undisputed heavyweight champion in May. Now they will run it back (Saturday, DAZN pay-per-view), with Fury claiming he hopes a victory will set up a definitive trilogy bout.