Oleksandr Usyk said he doesn’t care about Tyson Fury’s long beard because it “won’t help” him on Saturday night when they meet for their rematch in Riyadh. Usyk’s team wanted Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) to trim his beard because the concern was that it would act as a cushion to use as a fortification to protect him.
Fury is desperate to gain any edge to try and win the fight. The beard and the 21 pounds of weight that ‘The Gypsy King’ has gained are viewed as extra advantages to give him the needed boost to get the victory and force a lucrative trilogy match against unified heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs).
A beard isn’t enough of a cushion for Fury to use as a form of headgear to protect him from the punches from Usyk. Those shots are going to be coming hard and fast from Oleksandr, who doesn’t want to leave it in the hands of the judges and wind up on the receiving end of a controversial decision.
Fury vs. Usyk 2 will be staged this Saturday, December 21st, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV. In the chief support bout, former WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk faces Ishmael Davis in a 12-rounder.
That fight is one of the more interesting ones on the undercard, mostly consisting of British domestic-level fighters.
“For me, it doesn’t matter. It won’t help Tyson Fury,” said Oleksandr Usyk to iFL TV about Tyson Fury’s long beard not helping him on Saturday night.
“Only quiet,” said Usyk on what was going through his head when Fury was using foul language towards him during their face-off at the final press conference on Thursday. “Tomorrow night will be a great fight, and ‘The still Oleksandr Usyk from Ukraine.”
It would be interesting if Fury’s beard could help him take the heavy shots from Usyk, who had him out on his feet in the ninth round of their previous fight on May 18th.
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