By BRIAN MAHONEY AP Sports Editor

Tyson Fury promises less clowning and more punches to Oleksandr Usyk’s face in their upcoming rematch for boxing’s heavyweight championship.

Usyk won a split decision in May in Saudi Arabiaand they return to the ring on Saturday. Fury doesn’t plan to change much since his first loss as a pro, beyond doing everything he can to avoid leaving the outcome up to the judges.

“I’m just going to throw more this time,” Fury said Wednesday. “Keep hitting him in the face more often than last time.”

The first clash made Usyk boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years. Fury (34-1-1) quickly activated his right to a rematch, although only three belts will be on the line this time because the IBF removed Usyk for failing to face his mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois.

Fury is 5-0, with all wins coming via stoppages, however, including two knockouts of Deontay Wilder After a draw in their first fight This was Fury’s only other fight that did not end in a victory.

The first match against Usyk (22-0) was so close that he doesn’t see the need for significant strategic changes from seven months ago.

“I’m just going to box smart, box smart and if I catch him, I’ll get him out of there,” said Fury, who weighed a career-high 281 pounds in Riyadh on Friday, 55 pounds more than Usyk (226 pounds). ). ). “It’s pretty similar to what I did last time. A little less clowning and a little more concentration and that’s it, really.

Fury, 36, loves to entertain, and he was putting his arms behind his back and making faces from the start of the first fight. But perhaps in recognition of the talent of Usyk, the former cruiserweight champion before fighting against the bigger boys, Fury realizes he will have to do less.

“I’ve done more clowning than anyone in a high-level fight has ever done,” he said. “It also took my focus away, so maybe a little less clowning and more focus on actually winning.” I was messing around too much in there.

But it was a loss of energy, not focus, that Fury said led to the punch that ultimately tipped a back-and-forth in Usyk’s direction. A left hand stung Fury and Usyk followed with a flurry of hard shots and was credited with a knockdown – although Fury never went to the canvas.

The 6-foot-9 Fury — who weighed 262 pounds to the 6-3 Usyk’s 223.5 when the two fought in May — wasn’t surprised to have been caught or even injured by the 2012 Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine, but blamed himself for allowing it to happen.

“It wasn’t so much what he did well. It was me more tired than anything, becoming nonchalant, you know what I mean? » said Fury. “I was throwing punches when I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing. It’s not because what he did was so great, it’s what I did that was truly a mistake. And that’s it.

Fury has been dropped a bit in recent years, a total of four times by Wilder and another by MMA fighter Francis Ngannou. in a 2023 fight that Fury won by split decision. He concedes that the accumulation of shots made him a different fighter than the one who beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to become champion.

“I’m not the same guy I was when I was 21 or 22, but who’s that age?” » said Fury. “No one is, I guess.” This was not the case with Muhammad Ali. Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson certainly wasn’t. Nobody is. Who is the same man at 36 as he was at 26? Nobody really. So yes, all this fighting has a great effect on human beings.

“I remember when I was a young man in my twenties and I said to Vladimir Klitschko: ‘Look at you, you’re an old man.’ He was 37. I said, “You’re old.” I said, “You’ve got gray hairs in your beard.” I’m in this position, I’m in this boat.

And, Fury realizes that sometimes guys who were could still talk a good match even after they couldn’t fight one anymore.

“Sometimes when fighters lose one fight, they can never win another once the bubble is burst,” he said. “They are never the same. I have seen it several times.

As for Fury?

“We’ll find out Saturday night, won’t we?” he said.

HOW TO WATCH

The 12-round fight is available on pay-per-view on DAZN in most countries. The ring walk for Usyk-Fury is expected around 2 p.m. PT.

FIRST FIGHT RECAP

Usyk earned a close victory on two scorecards, 115-112 and 114-113. The other judge favored Fury, 114-113. Through the first seven rounds, Fury was ahead on every scorecard, but Usyk began to rally. Usyk nearly finished off his much taller and heavier opponent in the ninth, when he was credited with a knockdown before Fury was saved by the bell.

FAVORITE BET

According to BetMGM Sportsbook, Usyk is a slight favorite with 3/4 odds to win, and Fury with 11/10 odds to win. The odds of a draw are 15/1.

WHO ELSE IS FIGHTING?

Promising heavyweight Moses Itauma puts his unbeaten record (10-0, 8 KOs) on the line against Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs). The 19-year-old Slovak southpaw is a great puncher: none of his last six fights have gone beyond the second round.

Elsewhere on the undercard, an all-British heavyweight bout features Johnny Fisher (12-0, 11 KO) against David Allen (23-6-2, 18 KO).

The first fight is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. PT.

Originally published: December 20, 2024 at 6:32 p.m. PST