Tyson Fury pulled off a beyond-epic transformation from being “fat as a pig” to a buff boxer ahead of his big fight with Oleksandr Usyk tonight.
The 36-year-old first entered the ring with Usyk in May which resulted in his first-ever loss to a professional boxer as Usyk was awarded the win by a split decision. Usyk beat Fury on points to become the undisputed champion.
The heavyweight boxer previously revealed he’d undergone a speedy transformation for his fight with Francis Ngannou in what was the MMA star’s first ever boxing contest last year. Fury admitted he was as “fat as a pig” just a month before their bout, which he controversially won by split decision.
He said going from 27-stone to shredded ahead of his boxing return in just a month, saying: “I was walking along the canal with my dog and I thought: ‘you know what? I’m a fat pig. Look at the state of me.”
Now Fury and Usyk will meet in a 12-round heavyweight rematch in Riyadh tonight (Saturday, December 21) with the ring walks for the main event expected at 10pm UK and Ireland time.
The Gypsy King was forced to pull out of the first fight, initially pencilled in for February 17, after suffering a nasty cut above his eye in sparring which needed more than tent stitches – with it rescheduled for May. He was looking in very good shape at the time.
He was hit at the time with unsubstantiated accusations that he withdrew on purpose, despite seemingly being on track to give a far better account of himself against the Ukrainian than he did in Saudi Arabia last year against Francis Ngannou.
The undefeated champion’s strength and conditioning coach, Kristian Blacklock, released behind-the-scenes snaps of Fury before the first Usyk fight was postponed, showing Fury’s incredible body transformation but airing his frustration towards the set-back.
Blacklock posted: “Gutted. I’ve been working with @tysonfury since 2015 and yesterday probably the worst day we have had as a team! Behind the scenes and what people don’t see and don’t realise is the huge personal sacrifices we all made as a team to provide Tyson the best possible preparation.
“We worked for 4 months dozens of training sessions, massages, meals cooked! Team members driving hundreds of miles to perform their individual tasks with Tyson every day.”
(Image: Getty Images)
His nutritionist Greg Marriott, who has been keeping the Mancunian lean, has now posted another snap of a shredded looking Fury at the time. He captioned the post: “Different date, Same goal, same outcome WIN!!”
It appears that the photo in question was taken in the same Riyadh resort where Fury was training earlier this year.
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