Usyk Tells Fury: ‘You Never Hurt Me’ During Roundtable Discussion

November 23, 2024

3 weeks

Usyk Tells Fury: 'You Never Hurt Me' During Roundtable Discussion

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury had their roundtable discussion ahead of their December 21 rematch.

Usyk beat Fury in the first fight to become the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. The scorecards had it as a split decision: 115-112, 113-114, 114-113. But in truth, Usyk had done more than enough to secure a unanimous decision win. He was the better fighter from the start and finished stronger, while Fury found success in the middle rounds. Tyson struggled to accept the loss, saying Usyk got the win due to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Even after having rewatched the fight, he felt he had done enough to get the decision. Since then, he has changed that view, saying Usyk was the better man. The pair rewatched the fight during their sit-down as they commented on various aspects. The two fighters showed respect to each other, with Fury departing from his vocal style, a sign perhaps that he was humbled in defeat. Another defeat to Usyk will increase the calls on him to retire, while the Ukrainian knows a win solidifies his position as the best heavyweight of this era. Here are the key comments during their interaction.

Key Quotes

Fury: “This round he was hurt [round six]. Watch these two big right uppercuts. You can’t tell me this never hurt him.”

Usyk: “yeah, of course, a good body shot. [But] I expected it. [No] I didn’t hurt me.”

Fury: “I don’t think when I’m in the fight. I just take it one round at a time. You know, we were both boxing really good. And sometimes you have success, and then sometimes you don’t. You know, nothing to worry about.”

Fury: “I’m a big believer in God. So I believe that God has a plan for everybody, and the plan was for Usyk to win this fight. And he did, so fair play.”

Fury: “Yeah, listen, people can have opinions. But at the end of the day, they’re not in there fighting. So it’s really not important what other people think of what was going on in my corner. If I’m happy, then the world’s happy, you know, and I’m happy.”

Further Quotes

Fury: “It’s the World Heavyweight title fight, undisputed [so the fight should not have been stopped]. At least a man’s gotta go down to the floor and someone like me, who has been down loads of times, who gets back up, at least give me one chance.”

Usyk: :I don’t think about it [the stoppage]. [These are] big ifs.”

Fury: “He made a very valid point. I recover quite quickly. It’s a testament to my fitness and stamina, where I’ll be able to recover quick.”

Fury: “I knew it was a close fight. I thought I’d done enough, but listen, I don’t complain. He’s got the victory. I was happy for him. I congratulated him. [And] I was happy that we both went home to our family safe. My dad always said to me, if you lose a fight, son, shake the man’s hand.”