“Welcome to the ring for the future undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, which is me,” the Brit said at a press conference in London. “No matter what you say, you’re still going to get knocked out and after that you’re going to work for me and carry my bags.”
“I’ve already taken all his belts from one Ukrainian, I’ll take all his belts from this one too, including the Ring belt I left behind last year. I’m gonna tear this little freak apart, chop this weenie to pieces. You know what’s coming – you’re fighting the best British heavyweight in history. You’ve beaten everyone else, but you can’t beat Tyson Fury. And if you suddenly win, you should wake up and apologize for it right away. By the way, I stole that phrase from Muhammad Ali, ha ha.”
“I am destined to become the undisputed world champion, and cement my legacy as the greatest heavyweight of this era. To do that, I just need to beat this little guy, that’s all. I’m going to break him down on February 17, you can rest assured of that.”
“I’m glad to be here, thank you all very much. I will talk more in the ring,” Usik replied. “Yes, I’m a small man, but I’m a big champion. I want to remind Tyson of the biblical story of David and Goliath – when the Lord gives it to me in my hands, I will do my job”
Psychologically pumped up by the verbal altercation, the Briton continued to press his opponent in a battle of stares, forcing security personnel to intervene and pull them apart.
The heavyweight bout was originally scheduled for December 23, but after “The Gypsy King” barely won a split decision over Francis Ngannou three weeks ago, knocking him down in the process, the British team said they needed more time to recover and prepare for their next fight.
Tyson Fury last defended his WBC title last December, knocking out Dereck Chisora in the tenth round, while Alexander Usik successfully defended his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO titles in August, knocking out Daniel Dubois in the ninth round.