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Tyson Fury has doubled down on his claim that he is fighting Oleksandr Usyk “for the money” – even if “boxing purists don’t want to hear it”.

Fury will box Usyk in Saudi Arabia on Saturday to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years. The Briton, 35, and Ukrainian, 37, will both enter the fight unbeaten, as they look to emulate Lennox Lewis by holding all the division’s major gold.

Yet the historical ramifications of the fight mean less to Fury than the money he will earn from it, according to the WBC champion.

“Look, this is an important fight,” Fury told The Telegraph, “but again... I hate to say it, because the boxing fans and the boxing purists and all them w*****s don’t want to hear it, but why do you think I box? For the money.

“If anybody in this building, or anybody in professional boxing, tells me they don’t do this game for money, they’re lying to you, and I speak from the heart. I do it for the dough. The bigger the deal, the better. I’m a prize-fighting pugilist specialist, that’s what I do. I fight for the prize, whether it be gold bars, gold coins, cash, transfers, cars – whatever you want to pay me, pay me in bags of sand for all I care. As long as I can make a drink on it, deal done.
“This is a good fight, [but] I’m not too concerned about what people are going to be saying in 100 years. The dust from our bones won’t exist in 100 years, never mind what they say about a boxing match in 100 years. We’ll all be dead, my kids will be dead, my wife will be dead, my dad will be dead, anybody I ever cared about will be gone.

“So, I’m going in there to get paid [...] and come back to Morecambe Bay. I probably won’t even buy anything, because I don’t need anything. I’ll do a bit of shopping, probably be tighter than I am today. I’ll do the rematch exactly the same.”
“I’m looking to do a demolition job on him,” Fury continued. “I just want to beat the silly sausage. Yes, Usyk is fast, talented, he outboxed a big heavyweight in Anthony Joshua twice, but ‘AJ’ is one-dimensional, one-paced, and I could outbox him with a blindfold on.

“All I can do on Saturday night is go in there, give it my best shot, and – win, lose or draw – put my best foot forward and man up.

“I’ll tickle his nuts,” Fury joked, before adding: “Seriously, I’ll do the best I can, whatever that might be.

“I’m just different. It’s because I’m charismatic, tall, controversial, good-looking, can fight, all of the above. That’s why. There’s a lack of characters in this sport today; [there’s] a lot of businessmen and cash registers, but there ain’t so many characters. I’m a dying breed in this game.”

Fury vs Usyk will air live on DAZN worldwide, at a cost of £24.99 for new subscribers and £23.99 for existing customers. New subscribers will receive a free month’s subscription for the above cost. You can also purchase a DAZN subscription here, with plans starting at £9.99 a month. We may earn commission from this link, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
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Fights don't get much bigger than Saturday's showdown between WBC champion Tyson Fury and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner of the bout will emerge as the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first man in boxing's glamour division to earn undisputed status of any form since Lennox Lewis was stripped of the WBA championship in 2000.

Boxing fans have been impatiently waiting for Fury and Usyk to share the ring for some time. Negotiations between the two fell apart several times before plans for a December 2023 clash were dashed when Fury was nearly defeated by Francis Ngannou in October. The fight was then rescheduled for Feb. 17, only for Fury to suffer a cut while sparring two weeks out from the fight.

The fighters are now set to move ahead when they meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with plenty of intrigue over how the fight will play out.

Fury is undefeated in 35 career fights, with the lone blemish on his record a 2018 draw in his first meeting with Deontay Wilder. He won his first world title with a 2015 decision victory over Wladimir Klitschko to claim the WBA, IBF and WBO titles. Fury then put on substantial weight and dealt with several injuries before failed drug tests sidelined him for over two years, costing him his world titles in the process.

The first fight with Wilder came two fights after Fury's return to boxing and many observers felt the 'Gypsy King' had clearly done enough to win the fight, even rising from a late knockdown that would have finished nearly any other fighter on the planet. Three fights later, Fury and Wilder were in the ring once again, with Fury dominating the fight before a stoppage in Round 7 to win the WBC title. An 11th round knockout over Wilder was next as Fury cemented his place atop the division.

Fury went on to easily handle Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora before disaster nearly struck against the former UFC heavyweight champ Ngannou. Fury appeared out of shape for the fight and struggled to handle a fighter making his boxing debut, even having to rise from the canvas after a clean shot in the third round before taking a narrow split decision.

"I predict that somebody's '0' has got to go. And it's going to be that team over there, unfortunately for them," Fury said this week. "Oleksandr Usyk is a great fighter. Olympic gold medalist, cruiserweight world champion, heavyweight world champion. But, unfortunately for him, he has to come against the great Tyson Fury in the era of me. I'm really looking forward to Saturday night."

Usyk brings his own storied career to the ring with an unblemished 21-0 record.

After becoming WBO cruiserweight champion in 2016 and making two successful defenses of the title, Usyk entered the World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament. The tournament featured eight fighters, including all four world champions.

In the tournament, Usyk defeated Marco Huck by TKO, defeated Mairis Briedis by majority decision to add the WBC title to his collection and took a unanimous decision over Murat Gassiev in the finals to capture the WBA and IBF titles and become undisputed cruiserweight champion.

Following a win over Tony Bellew, Usyk announced his intentions to move to the heavyweight division.

Usyk has continued his successful career since moving up, stopping Chazz Witherspoon and taking a decision over Chisora before getting a shot to become unified champion against Anthony Joshua.

Usyk put on a masterful boxing display against Joshua in September 2021, rattling the multi-time unified champion several times in the bout en route to a clear decision win. The pair would rematch the following year, with Usyk winning a more competitive fight by split decision.

"I feel good. I'm very happy to be here," Usyk said. "Saturday is a special day because I will have the opportunity to become undisputed for a second time. It's great. It's very good for me. It's very important for my country. I like that."

Last year saw Usyk defend his unified status again when he stopped Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.

Let's take a closer look at the rest of the fight card with the latest odds before getting to predictions and expert picks on the main event.