He never felt that he lost the fight. That it was an easy sojourn against a ‘local amateur boxer’. However, the record stays where it is. On May 18, Tyson Fury lost one of the era’s biggest battles to Oleksandr Usyk. The heavyweight division finally had its first undisputed champion in 25 years. Now the Mancunian eyes the rematch on December 21 to put things in order.

A few reporters caught with one of Fury’s long-time sparring partners. Over a discussion, he shared how ‘The Gypsy King’ fared against the Ukrainian champion. But what might interest a few followers could be some of the details he provided about the fight lead-up. Especially the situation that unfolded following the fight’s postponement to May. The Fury-Usyk clash was initially scheduled for February 17. However, on account of the injuries the Mancunian suffered, it met with cancellation. It caused widespread concerns. However, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh brought both champions together to ensure that the epic duel took place as planned.

Tyson Fury through challenging times

Ty ‘Hyper’ Mitchell‘s record displays five professional fights out of which he won three. Nevertheless, the Derbyshire-born southpaw has gained considerable prominence on account of his sparring sessions with Tyson Fury. So Boxing King Media caught up with him at Sheffield, where Mitchell went to support an associate.

One of British Boxing’s biggest shows passed by ten days ago. So initially Mitchell spoke on Anthony Joshua‘s debacle against Daniel Dubois. A few minutes later, diverging from the topic, the reporter asked, “You were part of Tyson’s camp when he fought Usyk. I think he’s just kind of kick-started. Now are you going to be part of this next camp?”

“Insha Allah, yeah, I think well. I was with him the other day, so I know I’m going to be part of the camp again,” replied Ty Mitchell. Offering a few insights into the Fury training camp, he shared that the standard practice with ‘The Gypsy King’ was to have fifteen-round fights with 4-5 sparring partners. But the lead-up to the May 18 fight saw him training with only two sparring partners. That too for eight rounds only. “He was so scared,” said Mitchell, adding, “because he’s so scared of getting caught, not because he’s going to cancel the fight.”

So Ty Mitchell highlighted how Tyson Fury expected to earn around $120 million from the fight. But he might have ended up losing $10 million in case he hadn’t turned up. He said, “He’s going to have to pay him 10 mil, so he had a lot to Line 120 mil that he got paid plus the 10 mil he’d lost, and then they were about to give him 10 mil.”

As most fans might recall, HE Alalshikh stipulated the condition following the February 17 cancellation. On a special episode of ‘The MMA Hour’, with both Fury and Usyk present, the Riyadh Season head, while pointing at the tentative date of May 18, said, “I’m guaranteeing for the both of the fighters 10 million if some someone escapes from the fight; this is the first thing, and the second thing, I guarantee a big fight in the same night for the other one.”

Not an ideal first one, but for sure to shine in the next

However, reasons aside, Mitchell made it clear that Oleksandr Usyk was the better fighter on fight night. Perhaps, he opined, Fury could have done a bit better. But the cut he suffered in February and later all the pressure and hype around the fight probably took its toll on him.

Nevertheless, the Derby-born boxer expressed optimism that in the rematch ‘The Gypsy King’ would turn the tables on Usyk. After all, even in the last fight, he flagged that Tyson Fury controlled Usyk for several rounds. However, it seemed he had tired himself out. Resultingly, Usyk closed the gap in the eighth round, and the ninth round changed the outcome. Otherwise, Ty Mitchell felt that, on equal footing, Tyson Fury would always emerge as the winner.

Do you feel Tyson Fury will avenge his first professional loss on December 21?