While Tyson Fury suffered a defeat against Oleksandr Usyk in the fight for the undisputed heavyweight title in May earlier this year, the British boxer will face the Ukrainian fighter for a rematch for the heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this Saturday. With the 36-year-old ‘Gypsy King’ boxer looking to avenge his May defeat at the same venue, the British fighter has been training in Malta for the fight. Fury’s team leaders, on condition of anonymity, shared with The Telegraph how the British boxer trained in a ‘prison-like’ complex.
‘Fury trained with a group of young southpaws before his fight with Oleksandr Usyk. They entered a camp inside a complex, which insiders told Telegraph Sport was ‘similar to a prison’. There, they undertook what was described as the most intense training regime of Fury’s career,’ the Telegraph reported.
The newspaper also reported that Fury has been training in sparring sessions with five southpaw boxers imitating Usyk’s in-ring tactics and is undergoing sessions known as ‘Shark Tanking’, a method in which new fighters are constantly moving in and out. The five boxers are Kevin Lerena, Zhan Kossobutskiy, Fernely Feliz Jnr, Alexis Barrière and Aleksei Dronov, the last three boxers who are undefeated in their careers according to the newspaper.
During the bout against Usyk in May, Fury was injured during sparring, which resulted in the bout being postponed for three months. ‘It was definitely a better retirement without interruptions. The eye cut last time was unavoidable [Fury was injured during sparring, causing the rescheduling of the first bout from mid-February to May] and we simply handled it as best we could.
‘But Malta was great. We started the strength work early, before the training camp. We had four months of it. A bit more volume in the beginning, three times a week. For example, there was a shoulder problem at the last training camp, but Tyson is now reaching new heights: 500kg leg press and flat bench press with a 50kg arm. We have been working on increased strength and explosive movements specifically for this fight’. Kristian Blacklock, Fury’s strength and conditioning coach, told Telegraph Sport.
In his professional career, Fury had scored 35 wins out of 35 fights before suffering the first defeat of his career against Usyk in May. It was a split decision with one judge awarding the bout 114-113 for Fury, but it was overturned with scores of 114-113 and 115-112 by the other two judges.
Up to that point, Fury had been the first unified heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999. Fury and Usyk had signed a two-fight deal in 2023. Before arriving in Riyadh, Fury’s regimen in Malta saw him take in 5000 calories a day and deep strength and conditioning training followed by the inclusion of lean meats in his diet, according to The Telegraph.
‘All his strength and conditioning numbers are very good and very high. Tyson loves training and weight training, I couldn’t have asked for more from him and I know his [boxing] coach SugarHill [Steward] feels the same way. He loves to fight and is determined to win.
This time we didn’t have to work on injuries, there are always little problems that all fighters have, and he’s coming through it in great shape. The defeat has made him even more determined. He has given his heart and soul in this camp, working on his physical regime, running in the hills of the region, and Malta, in the camp, has been a case of train, eat, sleep. And repeat,’ added Blacklock.
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