Aurelia Butler

TYSON FURY has been hit with a “tampering” warning ahead of his undisputed heavyweight showdown with Oleksadnr Usyk on February 17.Fury, who holds the WBC heavyweight belt, was called out by Usyk’s former coach James Ali Bashir.
An undispued champion will be crowned in FebruaryCredit: EPA
Bashir, 72, said Fury would be unable to “tamper” with the mind of Usyk prior to the bout and will be left incapable of using the mind games that have proved so successful for him in the past.
He also warned Fury that the Ukrainian will be able to infiltrate his own head in the lead-up to the fight.
Speaking on boxing YouTube channel Seconds Out, Bashir said: “He [Usyk] is going to be out there to win that fight because he knows what undisputed means.
“He knows what that means and so does Tyson Fury, that’s why I say it’s a tough fight. This is more of a mental fight than it is a physical fight.
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“I don’t think he can tamper with Oleksandr Usyk’s mind. If anything, Oleksandr Usyk will tamper with Fury’s mind. I think that Oleksandr Usyk is a master of the mind games.
“I think that he is in this fight all the way. I just want to get me a bag of popcorn and sit down, I wanna watch this.”
He did go on to say that he thinks the bout will be a close call.
Both of the fighters, despite being top of the heavyweight game, have had poor showings in their last outings.
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TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
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Fury was left floored in the third round of his exhibition match against UFC legend Francis Ngannou and went on to win the match in controversial circumstances.
Usyk also had to survive a scare against Daniel Dubois in August, when he was floored from a punch to the midriff.
After a lengthy stoppage, it was declared that the punch was an illegal low blow, but Usyk was hardly impressive on the night.
Bashir added: “He [Usyk] has a very good opportunity.
“But the Tyson Fury that we saw in the (Francis) Ngannou fight will be a far cry from the one that we will see in the Usyk fight.
“Because Tyson Fury will be totally prepared to be a big guy, 6’9 and 280 or 290lbs, whatever he is going to come in at.
“He is a good boxer, he is agile, he is slick, he is confident and he knows what he is doing out there.
“I think that this is going to be a tough fight for both guys, but I think that Oleksandr Usyk has a good, good chance to edge Tyson Fury in this fight.”
Fight prediction
“I think that Tyson Fury will do what he does, put pressure on him, he will lay on him, the mauling, the brawling and he has a good jab.
“To be a big guy he has a really good jab, he knows how to work his weight and he is agile.
“It’s a tough fight but I can see Oleksandr Usyk winning on split decision and I see Tyson Fury winning on unanimous decision.
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“It’s a tough fight for both guys, but Oleksandr Usyk is not your run-of-the-mill fighter, no, he is a focus guy, he is a tough guy.”
Either way, an undisputed heavyweight champion will be crowned on February 17 for the first time since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.
Fury was knocked down in his last fight against Francis NgannouCredit: AFP
And Usyk made hard work of Daniel DuboisCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun More

UNDEFEATED boxer Shakur Stevenson has announced he is retiring from the sport.The 26-year-old took to social media to make the shock announcement.
Shakur Stevenson has announced he is retiring from boxing aged just 26Credit: Getty
Stevenson has won each and every one of his 21 bouts since he made his professional debut in 2017.
But despite his young age and impressive record, the WBC World Lightweight champion appears to have decided to hang up his gloves.
On X (formerly Twitter), he wrote: “I’m officially retiring from the sport of boxing.
“I’ll be in the gym forever perfecting my craft and helping the next generation become great and chase their dreams,
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“But I ain’t [f*****g with] this weak boxing game.”
Stevenson was nicknamed “Fearless” after his silver medal at the 2016 Olympics.
And the southpaw has certainly impressed in his seven years as a pro since the games in Rio.
Some fans are unsure if Stevenson, named Shakur after rap icon Tupac, is truly heading for retirement or not.
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On social media. one fan wrote: “Not buying it for one second.”
While another added: “There’s just no way.”
A third chimed in writing: “We all know he ain’t retiring!”

And a fourth joked: “Got more chance my hair growing back than him retiring!”
The former WBC World Super Featherweight champ wouldn’t be the first to threaten to retire before going back on their decision.
Tyson Fury has famously announced his retirement a number of times before returning to the ring after a short period away.
Stevenson’s win over Oscar Valdez back in 2022 was perhaps his biggest with Valdez undefeated before the clash.
Stevenson won by unanimous decision, earning himself Valdez’s WBC belt in the process to become the unified super-featherweight champion. More

GEORGE GROVES claims Tyson Fury pulled him aside before demanding to know why he was backing Oleksandr Usyk to win next month’s heavyweight title fight.Fury and Usyk will finally collide in a championship unifier when they take to the ring in Saudi Arabia on February 17.
George Groves predicts Oleksandr Usyk will beat Tyson FuryCredit: Reuters
Groves was confronted by Fury over his backing for UsykCredit: Reuters
The two men are the princes of the heavyweight division.
And whoever emerges victorious will finally be crowned the king once and for all.
Many are predicting Fury to win the bout thanks to his size and strength advantage.
But former WBA super-middleweight champ Groves is backing Usyk to come up with the goods.
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He reckons the Ukrainian’s smaller frame will work to his advantage.
And Groves even claims that after getting wind of his prediction, Fury confronted him backstage at a show before demanding an explanation.
Groves told Grosvenor Casino: “I think Usyk wins, I think he’s in better form.
“I know people are attacking him a bit for the Dubois performance but I thought he was very, very good. Usyk was in full control and stopped him. 
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“Usyk will take Fury out of his comfort zone, Fury’s a big unit and he carries a lot of weight.
“And if Usyk makes him work harder than he used to then it’s going to be a tough night for him. 
“Usyk builds into a fight and each round he cranks it up. I think he’s in better form, I’m going against the natural size of Fury, and I’m picking Usyk. I think he wins quite comfortably. 
“Fury pulled me backstage once and he said ‘hey, why are you picking Usyk to win’ and I said ‘Tyson, someone’s got to pick him’.”
Groves’ prediction comes after Fury declared he will only train for five weeks before facing Usyk.
He said: “I train four or five weeks for these fights.
“Please, like I trained 12 weeks for Wilder and everybody else! Four or five weeks, how much training does a man need?
“Three or four weeks of sparring and one week of resting, done. We’ve been boxing for all of our lives since young boys, how much training do we need?
“I’m sure we aren’t going to forgot how to box and it’s not a fitness competition is it, so I don’t think you need anymore than five weeks.”

TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT More