‘I’m an Ex-World Champ – Fury Bulking up for Usyk Rematch Won’t End Well’

Former three-weight world champion Duke McKenzie has warned Tyson Fury that significantly bulking up for his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk “will not end well”. The Ukrainian handed Fury the first defeat of his professional career in the pair’s initial bout in May, and they are set to go head-to-head again on the 21st of December to contest three of the four major world heavyweight belts.

The Brit has recently been spotted in the gym adding extra weight to his physique in an effort to get the better of Usyk in next month’s showdown, and Fury has spoken about needing to go into “destroyer mode” in order to beat the reigning champion.

Already the bigger man, Fury appears to have bulked up in order to try and impose his will upon Usyk when they meet for a second time. It’s a tactic that served the Morecambe man well in his 2020 rematch with Deontay Wilder, but ‘The Cat’ is a very different opponent to ‘The Bronze Bomber.’

Why Putting on More Weight Could End Up Costing Fury vs Usyk

Duke McKenzie is predicting a tough night for ‘The Gypsy King’

Having won world titles in three different divisions during his own glittering in-ring career, McKenzie knows exactly how important a fighter’s weight can be at the highest level – and the 61-year-old is not a fan of Fury ballooning up in weight for the biggest professional contest of his life. Speaking to talkSPORT, McKenzie declared:

“He [Fury] doesn’t live, eat, walk and talk the sport. But you’re supposed to, In-between fights is where fights are won and lost. We know Fury blows up, puts on a load of weight between fights and then he has got to get rid of all that weight again. Now, they’re trying to tell us that Fury is going to be bigger and better. Bigger and better isn’t going to beat Usyk. It’s really not.”

McKenzie went on to explain why he fears for Fury at a heavier weight: “If he puts on more weight and thinks to himself ‘I’m going to bully Usyk this time, I’m going to go in and walk him down, I’ll be able to take his shots because I’m that much bigger’, it’s not going to work for him.

“He’s going to be slower, he’s going to be more predictable, he’s going to get hit more and a lot sooner… Usyk wins the rematch all day long, I can’t see how Tyson Fury beats him. He’s not going to knock Usyk out. This guy is unbeaten, so you have to look for chinks in his armour. Has this guy got a bad engine? Does he get cut? Does he go down? Does he have to get up off the floor to win fights? Usyk doesn’t have to do any of them, he’s never shown any vulnerability.”

Oleksandr Usyk & Tyson Fury’s professional boxing records (as of 28/11/24)
	Oleksandr Usyk	Tyson Fury
Fights	22	36
Wins	22	34
Losses	0	1
Draws	0	1

Fury does have an impressive record in rematches – having won each of the three he has had in his career by knockout. However, Usyk is used to being the smaller man in the heavyweight division after making the move up from cruiserweight, where he was also an undisputed champion.

Anthony Joshua tried to use size to his advantage by bulking up for his own rematch with Usyk in August 2002, only to be defeated once again by the masterful Ukrainian. It’s also worth noting that Fury only lost narrowly on the judges’ scorecards in the first fight – and could easily have walked away with the decision had it not been for a disastrous ninth round in which he was nearly stopped.

With that in mind, Fury may be better served by tweaking his game plan from the pair’s first meeting, rather than going all in on a new strategy. Regardless of how he decides to approach the contest, the world is now just weeks away from one of the most anticipated heavyweight rematches in history. Whether it’s repeat or revenge, the 21st of December promises to be a memorable night with major implications for boxing’s most glamourous division.