Tyson Fury is being tipped to come in at his lowest weight in almost a decade ahead of his highly anticipated fight against Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.
After trying to book the bout for what feels like an eternity, Fury is finally set to put his WBC belt up against the Ukrainian’s unified WBO, WBA and IBF titles to decide the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, and Usyk‘s mind games have not turned to taking aim at ‘The Gyspy King’s weight loss.
The 35-year-old boxer revealed his trimmed-down physique this week as he walked out on stage in the event village in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, with a notably flatter stomach, less weight in the face and a leaner build overall.
Visible mass has been shifted, that much is clear, and his challenger was quick to react when the first glimpse of his fight weight was revealed, with many fans now expecting Tyson to turn up at his lightest weight in nine years.
Oleksandr Usyk’s reaction to seeing Tyson Fury for the first time on fight week: “He’s skinny.”
Tyson Fury shows off his weight loss ahead of the title fight against Usyk this weekend.
As can be heard on the live DAZN broadcast, the 37-year-old unified fighter can be heard saying that he’s decreased his size “because he’s nervous; when you’re nervous, you lose weight or gain it as [we’ve seen] in the past”.
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The Wythenshawe-born boxer came in at his lowest-ever weight of 245.5lbs (111kg) against Vinny Maddalone back in July 2012 – quite the contrast when compared to his most recent matches against Chisora and Whyte (around 260lbs) and when he clocked in at 277.7lbs for the Ngannou fight.
While it’s unlikely he’ll have been able to strip enough to reach his leanest professional fight weight seen over a decade ago, he did come in manager 247lbs (112kg) when he became the heavyweight champion of the world against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
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Usyk went on to dub him “skinny belly” to the media in reference to his “greedy” comments made earlier this year regarding arguments over the fight purse, which is one of the main reasons it’s taken so long to get the fight booked, but did watch him intensely during his public workout on Wednesday.
𝗨𝗦𝗬𝗞 𝗢𝗕𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗬
Unified Heavyweight champion @usykaa looks on & observes @Tyson_Fury during his public workout
Tyson obviously brushed off the suggestion that he’s dropped too much weight, quipping, “Skinny? I’m 19 stone” and, as father John Fury has been hyping up for the last month or so, he believes fight fans are about to see the “best Tyson yet”.
Although many might have assumed that size was going to be a key thing that might give the Manc fighter the edge over Usyk, this drop in weight does suggest that his team are going for a different.
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The hope, presumably, is that a leaner, more agile Tyson might see him move quicker and simply try to directly outbox his opponent, but it remains to be seen how he’ll approach the bout. We’ll only get a clearer idea when the two heavyweights arrive at the weigh-in around 7pm on Friday.
Fury vs Usyk finally go toe-to-toe this Saturday night, though the actual fight isn’t due to start until the early hours of Sunday morning – who are you backing and will the weight drop prove to be a masterstroke or a mistake?
Tyson Fury in a southpaw stance on the pads at today’s public workout after Oleksandr Usyk did his workout in orthodox…
Stockport County’s playoff fortunes hampered following Callum Camps injury
Danny Jones
Stockport County’s luck as we head into the crunch time period has taken a less than ideal turn as Callum Camps is confirmed to be injured.
The club now has a clearer idea of how long he’ll be out for, but it’s not great news.
Camps was subbed off in just the 21st minute during County‘s recent away clash with title contenders Wrexham after a full-blooded tackle by fellow midfielder George Dobson – a challenge which went unpunished on the day, much to the frustration of the travelling fans.
Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester on Friday, 28 March, manager Dave Challinor revealed that the physios expect him to be out for “at least 6 weeks”, meaning he’ll likely miss the rest of the season.
🔵 Stockport midfielder Callum Camps is out for at least 6 weeks. #StockportCounty
As one of County’s most crucial and experienced players, his presence in the middle of the park is likely to be a big miss, especially with the playoff scraps looming large for the promotion hopefuls.
Challinor acknowledged that it’s a big blow not only for the club but the Tameside-born Northern Ireland international, cutting a quietly frustrated figure in his interview and giving away little regarding Camps’ current mentality besides his obvious “disappointment.”
At 29 years old and running out of contract this summer, the injury will no doubt bring an added pressure regarding his future as well, though you would suspect most Stopfordians would like to see him stay at Edgeley Park come 2025/26 if possible.
Not only a reliable operator in the engine room but also considered by plenty of fans as one of their best players this season, there’ll be lots of Hatters worrying how much of an impact this will have on how this year’s League One conclusion pans out.
Even with prior fitness issues in recent years, he’s still managed to make an impact and work his way back into the first-choice matchday squad, and many believe he should be more of a mainstay on the teamsheet for his national team.
Callum Camps was just sublime today and made the difference when he came on. If he’d have been fit more often he’d be right up there as one of our players of the season, he’s been right at it whenever he’s played. https://t.co/7oMZYutCCp
— The Stockport County Shirt Collection (@countyshirts) February 15, 2025
To make matters worse, he’s not the only one set to watch the remaining games from the sidelines, as defender Ryan Rydel also looks set to be out for the next few weeks.
Following an injury suffered at Bolton Wanderers the week prior to the Wrexham game, the Oldham-born left-back who had made 15 appearances for County this season – half of those as an increasingly regular young member of the starting XI – a hamstring problem looks to have cut his campaign short too.
With just over half a dozen league fixtures left, it’ll be interesting to see how they’ll fare if they stay within the playoff places as predicted.
It’s been a frustrating few months for Stockport as they also had to bid a reluctant goodbye to rising star and high-flying loanee Louie Barry, who was recalled by his parent club Aston Villa only for him to be loaned out to Hull City and end up getting injured himself.
When it rains, it pours, as they say.
Infuriating Dobson was allowed to get away with that pretty much for free and now we'll be without a key player for the rest of the season.
The 2025 Manchester Marathon is set to create the UK’s biggest-ever day of running
Danny Jones
The 2025 Manchester Marathon is just a month away now and as this year’s race is once again set to coincide with another major event (quite literally), it’s about to become the biggest day of runningin UK history.
Like, ever…
Greater Manchester is no stranger to making sporting history, be it athletics, football, tennis or otherwise – you name it, we can lay our claim to plenty.
However, stuff like this always makes us feel part of something truly ‘greater’ and genuinely special as the tens of thousands preparing to run through the city centre and surrounding areas are about to put us in the record books in the running world.
Credit: Manchester Marathon
As more than 36,000 racers, joggers, fundraisers and downright legends are scheduled to take on the Manchester Marathon this year – with the annual event on course to break its attendance record – even more will be taking on the equivalent down south, given it is one of the official World Majors.
Recently, the Manchester and London Marathons have been colliding, and with the 2025 editions of both due to take place on the same day for the second year in a row, it means there’ll be an unprecedented number of participants taking on the 26.2-mile challenge.
More accurately, it’s predicted that over 90,000 runners will be out on the roads of the nation’s capital and its second city (yeah, you heard us, Birmingham), which will be the greatest concurrent number in British history – at least on record when it comes to marathons.
The potential milestones don’t stop with just those taking part, either; as per an official press release from the event time, it’s predicted to be a record-breaking day for charity too.
An estimated £80m is set to be raised for charitable causes, including the adidas Manchester Marathon charity partners: the British Heart Foundation, Alzheimer’s Society, The Christie and Cancer Research UK. Incredible stuff.
In one month you’ll be making your way to the 2025 adidas Manchester Marathon start line!📢
We are buzzing – are you? Comment the GIF that best describes how you are feeling one month out ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/1ioROLfejW
Commenting on what will be a historic day for UK Marathons, Andrew Smith, CEO of A.S.O. UK, said: “Having the adidas Manchester Marathon and the London Marathon take place on the same day — Sunday 27th April — marks a landmark moment for British running.
“We’re incredibly proud to be part of this historic occasion, inspiring 90,000 people to take on 26.2 miles, supported by nearly a million spectators across the country.
As if all this wasn’t already momentous enough, nearly a million spectators are expected to line the streets to cheer on all the PB hopefuls and fundraisers – we can only hope for similarly groundbreaking crowds and levels of support to mark the occasion.
Danny Jones -
16th May 2024 
