OLEKSANDR USYK reckons he is the only one really training for the Undisputed decider with Tyson Fury after the Gypsy King went parasailing with his kids.
Ukraine’s 36-year-old WBA, IBF and WBO boss is locked away in Valencia grafting for the February 17 Saudi showdown.
So his team was stunned to see photos on SunSport of the WBC champ, 35, skylarking with his family in Jeddah.
Speaking exclusively to SunSport, a Team Usyk insider said: “While Tyson Fury is enjoying his break in Saudi Arabia, which we saw The Sun write about, we are working hard on fight preparation.
“We already have over 50 candidates for sparring who responded to our call and met the criteria.
“Three of them are signed up as the sparring partners for Oleksandr.
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“Unfortunately I can’t reveal their names now, the team is very careful with the information from the camp.”
When Fury is back on terra firma, his team has a tough job finding sparring partners to imitate 6ft 3in leftie Usyk, who won London 2012 gold and all four cruiserweight belts before moving up.
But they played a blinder by approaching two of the most skilled little-big-men in the hurt business.
Heavyweight 7-0 prospect Moses Itauma, the freakishly talented Kent 18-year-old who leads with his right hand and has an IQ well beyond his years, has been contacted.
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And Australian cruiserweight sensation Jai Opetaia – the finest fighter in the 14st 4lbs division – is another leftie who has been tapped up for training rounds.
Team Usyk have employed their own app – Right To Fight – to track down talent from all over the world, from the paid and amateur ranks.
And they reckon the giants they have to mimic the 6ft 9in 20st behemoth will give the Brit huge problems in Riyadh.
SunSport understands the scary stats for the most recently secured sparring partners are:
The hat-trick of multinational talent is a strong start and Team Usyk states there will be many more monsters joining the camp before the Valentine’s date.
The source said: “They are from all over the world, they have different experience levels and we believe that such sparring could not only help Oleksandr prepare for the bout.
“You will easily recognise what our sparring partners have in common – physical characteristics similar to Fury’s. They’re really big guys!
“And the call for sparring partners for Usyk is still open. So the list isn’t completed yet, it will only get bigger and bigger.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
