Oleksandr Usyk has told Tyson Fury to not ‘be afraid’ as he delivered a nine-word message to the WBC king.
The pair were set to trade blows on February 17 with all four titles on the line to crown boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Usyk has sent Fury a warning with the pair to now face each other on May 18Credit: X: @BBCSport
However the fight has been rescheduled for May 18 after the Gypsy King suffered a nightmare gash in sparring.
Usyk responded to last week’s shock news in the best way possible – by continuing his preparations in his bid to dethrone the unbeaten Mancunian.
And he has now fired a warning to Fury, where he vowed he will not give him one moment’s rest.
Quoted by BBC Sport, Usyk was asked to give a message to the Brit, where he said: “Tyson, hi my brother.”
He then stated: “Don’t be afraid. I will not leave you alone.”
It was recently revealed that Usyk missed the birth of his fourth child while training in Spain before the fight postponement was announced.
And Usyk has now insisted that Fury will have to play by his rules, with an £8million penalty on the line if either man backs out of the contest.
He remarked: “I’m not judging anyone. But the thing is we have to treat this more seriously, this is very important and we have to be cautious.
A huge gash picked up by Fury in sparring has led to the postponement of the undisputed dust-upCredit: X @Queensbury
“We have to treat this professionally. We have to spend every minute in the ring with the intention of having respect for our opponent.
“To judge someone for his mistakes is a weakness. I feel very well and even if someone is trying to play me they are playing by my rules.
“I sacrificed all the dates I wanted to spend with my family, Christmas, New Year, the birthday of my second son and the birth of my daughter.
“I should have been around my wife.”
Usyk’s manager Klimas ripped Fury following the bombshell news, where he labelled his client’s opponent as a ‘f***ing coward’.
It led to an X-rated response from Fury as tensions rise between the two camps.
