Oleksandr Usyk eyeing football return amid ongoing negotiations over Tyson Fury fight
Ukrainian heavyweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk is eyeing a return to the football field as his heavyweight unification fight against Tyson Fury remains unconfirmed.
The Gypsy King has placed another hurdle in the ongoing negotiations between the heavyweight world champions, insisting that there is no rematch clause in the contract ahead of their proposed fight date of April 29. It comes after the fighters appeared to save the bout at the 11th hour with Usyk verbally agreeing to Fury’s demand that the purse split in 70-30 in his favour.
Last year Usyk trained with Ukrainian second division side FC Polissya ahead of his re-match with Anthony Joshua and impressed coaches so much that they gave him debut in their friendly against Veres.
READ MORE: Oleksandr Usyk fluffs big chance just seconds into his debut for Ukranian football club
With his side leading 2-1, Usyk came on as a substitute with 14 minutes remaining and the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight world champion had an opportunity moments later to seal the win.
After he had pulled away from his marker, the ball was laid on a plate for Usyk, but just a few yards out from goal the boxer swung his leg and completely missed the ball. Despite his glaring miss FC Polissya held on to win the match 2-1.
The southpaw fighter showed his fitness to beat Joshua twice and is keen to play football ahead of his unification fight with Fury on April 29.
“We are commuicating with my team about this,” Usyk said. “But the team and my coaching staff are not very happy about it because the upcoming fight is serious and the risks are not justified.
“We need to be focused and prepare for our match. But there is a desire, so perhaps I will have more games with Polissya.”
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Usyk has also expressed his fondness with English football which he considers ‘tougher’ than in his home nation of Ukraine.
He added: “England. I like it, it’s tougher. There’s fewer boys fall rolling and screaming, ‘Ouch’. I mean, they go toe to toe, the bone sticks out and they keep running. I like this kind of football better.”
Usyk recently impressed former England and Manchester United star Gary Neville during an interview for the Overlap with a bizarre impression impression of Fury as the fighting talk between the pair starts to ramp up.
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