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Oleksandr Usyk to Fury: ‘Don’t be Afraid; I Will Not Leave You Alone’

Originally posted on Fights Around The World
By Abraham Gonzalez | Last updated 5/10/24

We are eight days away from crowning an undisputed heavyweight champion, and the social media games have officially begun. Queensberry Promotions started to release video clips from interviews with WBC champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), while DAZN posted one from unified champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs).

In the Usyk clip, the interviewer asks, “Do you have a message for Tyson Fury?” Usyk quickly replies, “Of course,” and follows up with, “Hey, my friend. Don’t be afraid. I will not leave you alone.” What makes this type of content enjoyable is that Usyk says it seriously but often means it in a sarcastic, joking way. However, you just can’t ever tell how serious he is when he says things like this.

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Usyk’s humor is in the seriousness with which he does things. There was a moment where he video bombed Top Rank’s Bob Arum during a post-fight interview that went viral. Other times, Usyk would come up with names like “Greedy Belly,” which would also go viral and likely annoy Fury. We haven’t had an undisputed heavyweight king in nearly 25 years, so the fight on May 18 is important to Usyk & Fury and the sport’s rich history. More than likely, this is only the beginning of the war of words expected to occur during fight week.

The odds for this fight are tight; the assumption is that they will get even tighter by the time we reach fight night. Fury is the favorite, but that can easily change as we move into fight week.

Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk Betting Odds

Per DraftKings SportsBook, Tyson Fury is the favorite at -120, and Oleksandr Usyk is the underdog at +100.

Tyson Fury: TKO/KO +380; Decision +175

Draw: +1400

Oleksandr Usyk: TKO/KO +500; Decision +180

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This article first appeared on Fights Around The World and was syndicated with permission.

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