Heavyweights Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury both unsurprisingly made weight for their Saturday night rematch taking place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Usyk, 37, tipped the scales at 226lbs, with Fury weighing 281lbs – a 55lbs difference. Most notably, both remained fully clothed to weigh in on the scales and face off. The face-off lasted all of a few seconds, as Fury broke the stare within seconds and left the stage.
Usyk, a former undisputed cruiserweight champion, voyaged up to heavyweight in 2019 and in six fights has become the undisputed heavyweight champion (though he now holds only three of the four major titles). Usyk, who defeated Fury via split decision in May, became the first undisputed heavyweight titleholder in the modern four-belt era and first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.
“I talk to you tomorrow,” Usyk, 22-0 (14 KOs), said when asked who he would dedicate the fight to. The broadcast noted that Fury, 34-1-1 (24 KOs), said “war” upon leaving the stage.
This comes on the heels of a rather sleepy press conference, in which neither fighter left viewers with much to chew on. Fury, 36, was first to speak. Usually quick witted, he was somber and cold.
“I am going to dish out a whole lot of pain,” Fury said. “I am going to put this fucker in the hurt locker.”
Usyk wasn’t much more vocal.
“Now we have just a performance,” Usyk said via translator. “Everything is going to be taking place on Saturday night.”
The co-feature will see junior middleweight Serhii Bohachuk, 29, who hit the scales at 153.1lbs, face Ishmael Davis, who came in at 153.6lbs.
Ukraine's Bohachuk, 24-2 (23 KOs) and trained by Manny Robles, lost to Vergil Ortiz Jnr in August via a majority decision in a fight that will be considered for Fight of the Year honors. Davis, 13-1 (6 KOs), entered as a late replacement – a familiar position for the 29-year-old British fighter nicknamed "The Black Panther" – after Israil Madrimov withdrew because of a case of acute bronchitis. Davis lost his most recent fight via majority decision to Josh Kelly after also coming in on short notice as the replacement for Liam Smith.
The bout airs in the United States on pay-per-view.
Full weigh-in results are as follows:
Heavyweight – 12 rounds
Oleksandr Usyk (226.0lbs) vs Tyson Fury (281.0lbs)
Junior middleweight – 12 rounds
Serhii Bohachuk (153.1lbs) vs Ishmael Davis (153.6lbs)
Heavyweight – 10 rounds
Johnny Fisher (241.1lbs) vs Dave Allen (257.6lbs)
Featherweight – 10 rounds
Isaac Lowe (125.1lbs) vs Lee McGregor (125.9lbs)
Featherweight – 10 rounds
Peter McGrail (129.8lbs) vs Rhys Edwards (129.0lbs)
Light heavyweight – 10 rounds
Daniel Lapin (174.9lbs) vs Dylan Colin (173.1lbs)
Heavyweight – 10 rounds
Andrii Novytskyi (237.0lbs) vs Edgar Ramirez (261.1lbs)
Lightweight – six rounds
Mohammed Alakel (134.1lbs) vs Joshua Ocampo (133.4lbs)
Lucas Ketelle is a proud member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and author of “Inside The Ropes of Boxing” (available on Amazon). Contact him on X @LukieBoxing.