Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk managed to break a new record before the fight had even started during their face-off on Thursday as they engaged in an extremely intense stare-down– the longest in boxing history.
Fury vs Usyk 2 takes place this weekend, with both excitement and now tension around the eagerly-awaited rematch boiling over as the two fighters locked into respective thousand-yard stares as they met on stage in Riyadh ahead of their rematch.
The pre-fight press and build-up had felt a little quiet and understated up until the last couple of weeks but with the two division-conquering heavyweights now set for what looks to be a real battle and an actually believable feud, the anticipation and stakes have never felt higher.
Fury will have to wait until Saturday to get his second shot at beating the Ukrainian but it’s clear that both their heads are very much already in the ring as the pair ultimately had to be pulled apart after an extremely intense and, frankly, awkward 11-minute stare-down.
As you can see, the situation was an unprecedented one and neither Fury nor Usyk seemed willing to flinch or concede even a little bit of ground to the other, resulting in the longest face-off professional boxing has ever seen. It could have gone on longer by the looks of things…
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More than 10 minutes passed before either party said a word to each other and it took various members of security, the promoters, Fury’s entourage and Usyk‘s to edge the two away from each other as the Wythenshawe-born boxer eventually appeared to lose his cool.
In addition to trading countless threats and insults as per, the Manc fighter looked visibly red-faced and began perspiring profusely as he became more mobile and agitated; in contrast, his Ukrainian counterpart barely moved an inch from the same spot.
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Perhaps the most jarring aspect of the hot-blooded affair was the general pageantry and ceremonial stuff going on around them, as tonnes of Saudi locals danced, got up on tables and played music around them as the face-off came to its conclusion.
However, it was the scenes picked up by cameras as the two were finally separated that many fight fans think have proved most telling, as the 36-year-old launched into a torrent of verbal abuse and expletives after the fact. As they see it, Fury’s ‘meltdown’ shows he’s already lost the first round:
Usyk didn’t get to enjoy his unified title for very long after beating Tyson the first time around but judging by the level of composure on display, he might already have a leg up in the rematch too.
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‘The Gypsy King’ has also been criticised once again for his conduct during the aftermath for homophobic, discriminatory and generally offensive remarks (something he’s come under fire for in the past) though he is yet to address the accusations and is unlikely to with just less than 24 hours before the bell rings.
Fury claims he hasn’t spoken to his wife in three months amidst his busy schedule and strict training camp rules for this fight – another comment he received some flak for online. Whether or not isolating himself has helped his chance, only time will tell.
If you happen to have free time on your hands and nothing better to do, you can watch the whole 11 minutes and change stare-off between Fury and Usyk down below. Better still, give us your predictions: who do you think is going to win this one?
Featured Images — DAZN/TNT Sports (screenshot via YouTube)
Sport
Manchester City star Alex Greenwood set to be sidelined for several months following surgery
Danny Jones
Manchester City and Lionesses star Alex Greenwood is set for a long stint on the sidelines after undergoing surgery.
The Man City Women’s stalwart has been a vital player in Gareth Taylor’s side ever since she joined back in 2020, being appointed as captain back in September this year.
However, following an injury suffered during the club’s 2-0 win over Austrian side St Pölten in the Champions League earlier this month, Greenwood was sadly stretchered off in the first half and supporters have been nervously waiting for an update on her fitness.
You can see the collision that caused the injury down below:
As you can see, the coming together quickly caused concern as the 31-year-old looked to be in visible distress in the immediate aftermath with teammates and opponents alike getting around her.
Despite her manager sharing an initial update claiming that the issue “was not as bad as first feared”, the club shared a further statement this Thursday revealing that she had undergone a “successful surgery on a Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) injury…
“The defender has since undergone a repair of her MCL”, the statement continues, “and will now return to the City Football Academy to work closely with the Club’s medical team. Everyone at Manchester City would like to wish Alex a full and speedy recovery.”
MCLs are considered less severe than the dreaded ACL (anterior collateral ligament) – typically seen as the worst possible injury in football – and tears can often heal naturally without surgery, but sadly Greenwood’s didn’t get off so lucky.
Nevertheless, her knee surgery was completed this week and the Euro 2020-winning England international shared a post to her followers after the procedure, assuring fans, “I will work so hard to be back on the pitch as soon as I can.”
While she expressed a very understandable frustration following such an unfortunate end to the year, her short but sweet statement was a typically defiant one as you would expect from the no-nonsense centre-back.
It’s still unclear just how long Greenwood will be out for, as post-MCL surgery recovery periods can vary from anywhere between three months and a full year depending on severity and various other factors.
Moreover, with Man City pushing for their first-ever Women’s Super League title and just a few points behind league leaders Chelsea, losing one of your most trusted senior players and leader as important as Alex Greenwood isn’t ideal but a successful surgery is still good news.
With the next Women’s European Championships coming up in July 2025 too, the entire nation will be hoping a key part of Sarina Wiegman’s backline will be able to not just return in time but get some much-needed minutes ahead of squad selection time.
"Very disappointing for Man City and England" 💬
Manchester City have confirmed that captain Alex Greenwood has undergone knee surgery after picking up an injury last week 👇 pic.twitter.com/9IO6XHMvev
Featured Images — The Manc Group/Alex Greenwood (via Instagram)
Sport
Stockport County’s viral Christmas dinner in a cup is back for 2024
Danny Jones
The big day is literally just around the corner and while we’re looking forward to unwrapping our presents and diving face-first into a mountain of food, there’s one festive foodie gift we can’t stop thinking about: Stockport County’s Christmas dinner in a cup.
Yes, the mother of all Sunday roasts is probably the best meal of the year but do you know the next best thing? A portable one that you can take with you to the game.
For the uninitiated, a couple of years ago Stockport County had the ingenious idea to level up matchday scran by swapping out the humble chips and gravy, Rollover hotdog or a simple pie to serve up an absolutely stuffed-to-bursting cup of the Christmas dinner with a bunch of trimmings.
No Yorkshire pudding just but we’re sure they’re working on it; maybe they can use that as the cup next time? Nevermind – check how good this looks:
The festive period is upon us which can only mean one thing… @StockportCounty's Christmas dinner in a cup is BACK. 😍
As you can see, beyond just getting a bit of meat and carbs with some moisture (the bare minimum you want to consume inside the stadium), the Hatters are serving a fair few of your five a day, lovely roasted turkey, pigs in blankets and even stuffing to top off their festive special.
Since debuting back in 2022, the idea has been a rousing success and even those who might have raised an eyebrow at a mini portable roast, selling out pretty much every week during the previous holiday season too.
Now back for just the third year running, they’ve had 12 whole months to perfect the recipe and while the product may be even better this December, it will still only set you back just £4.50.
Absolutely unreal value for money, as we’re sure the Footy Scran admin would agree, especially given the cost of living these days.
Head Chef John Rose, who served us up a healthy tray of them in 2023 and the year prior, even managed to rope in right-back Macauley Southam-Hales to serve the first few portions up to the staff and players earlier this month.
At this point, County are becoming just as synonymous with the Christmas dinner in a cup as they are hats…
‘Macca’, now the second longest-serving player behind goalkeeper Ben Hinchliffe, was understandably impressed with John’s no-spill cooking skills and given that this mobile meal delivers pretty much every food group a growing boy needs, we’re fairly sure he’s allowed this one the diet sheet.
Once again, this PCD (Portable Christmas Dinner) costs less than a fiver and is much healthier, both in portion size and actual nutritional value, than you’ll find at virtually any other football ground in Greater Manchester.
Available exclusively at the County Courtyard fan zone at Edgeley Park throughout the festive period, plenty of fans have already been lining their stomach with the Christmas dinner in a cup and with two home games left – counting the New Year’s Day fixture – you’ve still got chance to grab one.
Danny Jones -
20th December 2024 
