Tyson Fury says it would have been “sensible” for him to delay his first heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk even though it would have resulted in the British heavyweight incurring a £10m fine.
The original December fight date was pushed into February of this year, but a cut in sparring suffered by Fury once again meant the fight had to be moved.
A new date in May was set but this time with the caveat that if either fighter delayed the bout further they would be fined a staggering ÂŁ10m of their purse.
Usyk claimed undisputed glory via a split-decision verdict from the judges at ringside but Fury believes a more stable build-up to the rematch will aid his chances against the Ukrainian in the rematch.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “This time it’s been a lot easier. “I’ve done lots of sparring and I’ve been able to train properly, whereas before it’s no secret that I didn’t do a lot of sparring, hence I had a massive bounty on my cut eye.
“Thinking sensible, maybe I would have pushed it back a little bit and cost myself £10m, but it doesn’t really matter because we’re here now and I’m going to do the job on Saturday night.”
→ Swipe to see more articles
Will it be repeat or revenge? Let us know in the comments.
