RIYADH, (Reuters) – Briton Tyson Fury was nearly 30 pounds heavier than Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk at yesterday’s weigh-in ahead of their unified world heavyweight title bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk weighed in at 233.5 pounds (105.9 kg) — the heaviest he has been in his career — while Fury tipped the scales at 262 pounds (118.8 kg).
Billed as the “Ring of Fire”, the fight today will unify Fury’s WBC heavyweight championship with the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts held by Usyk, one of the best pound for pound boxers in the world.
The boxers faced off and locked heads after the weigh-in and as tensions rose, Fury shoved Usyk in the chest.
“I’m going to knock him right out,” Fury said. “I’m coming for his heart. He’s getting it tomorrow… They (Usyk’s team) can all get it if they want it.”
Usyk was quick to respond.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “I will not leave you alone tomorrow.”
The long-awaited fight between the two undefeated boxers was originally scheduled for Feb. 17 but postponed two weeks before the bout when Fury suffered a cut during sparring.
Fury weighed in lighter than the 277.7 pounds he was at for his non-title fight against former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in October, in which the Briton was knocked down but won on a split decision.
