Upbeat, in-form Tyson Fury enjoys the final build-up to his bout with Usyk

A mild-mannered Tyson Fury was in high spirits in the lead-up to his much-anticipated bout with Oleksandr Usyk (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
In the build-up to his victory over Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas in June 2019, Tyson Fury was every inch a natural showman.
A few nights before the start of the games in Las Vegas that he had long desired, he went to the court with a group of friends – the trainer at the time Ben Davison, promoter Frank Warren, and several members of the media – and clearly broke the defeat of Anthony Joshua. a week earlier at the hands of Andy Ruiz.
At that week’s final pre-fight press conference, he arrived early, took the microphone on stage to make sure it started at the right time for him, and cheered and commanded the attention of everyone present as the most experienced players in Vegas would.
He explained that his desire to fight in Sin City meant he had turned down opportunities to go there before his professional career required him to be there as a prizefighter. And, fittingly, he recognized the extent to which seeing one casino on the Vegas strip meant getting close enough to see them all, and on his way to the ring that night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, he imitated Apollo Creed’s ring from Rocky. IV.

Tyson Fury makes his best appearance to fight Tom Schwarz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on June 15, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by MB Media/Getty Images)
Fury, without a doubt, during his first fight since agreeing to promotional terms with Top Rank to be broadcast on ESPN, was happy to deliberately sell himself to the American audience. And, without a doubt, he was happy that for the first time he was preparing to fight in the same place as the heavyweight he was named after, and that it was his name in lights in a small corner of the Vegas strip. .
To see Fury that week – and it’s important that he was a huge favorite for Schwarz – before he won in two rounds and went on to play in his post-fight press conference was to see him improve all the time. To see him in Riyadh, at the beginning of the week that could define his decorated career more than any other and end with him defeating the undisputed heavyweight champion and Ring Magazine, is to remember what he was like five years ago, in 2019.
When Warren and the others left Fury’s rented villa that night in Vegas, they probably had to adjust to the ensuing power change that was no longer in front of him. “Have you ever met a character like him?” the promoter asked sincerely, years after regularly facing, among others, Mike Tyson and Don King.
Unlike the obvious efforts from almost everyone else involved in the promotion of the “Ring of Fire”, Fury is not tempted to lie and pretend that, unlike that week in Vegas, he had dreamed of fighting in the soulless city of Riyadh, or anywhere. some in Saudi Arabia or the Middle East. But he’s feeling the same optimism – of believing he’s on his way to the top – and increasingly, unlike when he struggled past Francis Ngannou in October, he’s looking fit and healthy.
Like other fighters, his skin condition is, often, Fury’s gift. In Riyadh he looks like he’s been clean for a long time – maybe since the fight with Ngannou, when he was fat and out of shape – and like he’s losing weight slowly, as if he’s had a cut. suffered a setback forcing him to postpone his fight with Oleksandr Usyk for the second time.

Tyson Fury takes the stage at BLVD City – Music World on May 14 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of his uncontested heavyweight bout with Oleksandr Usyk. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Fury was not worried about the behavior of his father John on Monday – the parent who named him Mike Tyson shot one of Usyk’s colleagues and left the scene with his head smeared in his blood – he spoke in an attractive way and not only. a picture of his work but the tragic death of Sherif Lawal who was the first. At Tuesday’s performance at BLVD City, an even more soulless entertainment center adjacent to the Kingdom Arena where he will fight Usyk, he relished his time in the spotlight, even performing briefly on stage.
If Usyk is a naturally more skilled fighter than Fury, he has not been named more – or less – in the boxing ring. In comparison, the Ukrainian – who is 37 years old as Fury’s senior – does not matter that he is professional and does not change, so to see him looking healthy, relaxed and fit from a distance was surprising.
“For me it’s a sport but for many people it’s a business,” Usyk said as he explained why, regardless of whether he won on Saturday, his gold medal win at the 2012 London Olympics will remain the most important. “It’s money; belts; honor. For me, first of all, it’s a game.”

Oleksandr Usyk reacts to the media presence on stage at BLVD City – Music World on May 14 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
Fury, in contrast, insists that he sees it as a business and his most rewarding form of financial security, but almost everything else about him and the way he’s talked about his long career history suggests he sees it as something more than that — again. that he is very fit, mentally and physically, has been his greatest test.
“What did we get into this?” Fury said Monday. “Money. If I can get double bubbles with one job, there’s not much I can say.”
His schoolboy smile when he said “double bubble” was another way he felt, as he was in the days before he fought Schwarz and before his first fight in 2018 with Deontay Wilder, when it’s a slight exaggeration to say so. as an underdog he fought a draw that should have been scored as a victory – and ultimately changed his life.
Before he stopped Steve Cunningham in 2013 – his first fight in New York – Fury asked a respected photographer to follow him and his wife Paris around Manhattan and take pictures of them together and explained that he wanted to make those memories because he knew how. soon his promising career may be over.
There are still eleven years of fighting as he has exceeded many of his expectations, and instead of making him tired, the promise of making history has inspired a renewed enthusiasm that seems to ensure that one of the strongest and most controversial players in the game will do his best.