This weekend saw Oleksandr Usyk emerge victorious over Tyson Fury for a second time in less than a year as the Ukrainian won the highly-anticipated rematch on points, and now an old clip of the Manc fighter dismissing his opponent has resurfaced online. Again.
Oh, the irony…
After losing following a split decision for what was his first career defeat back in May, Fury lost following a unanimous decision this time around and while some have questioned the scorecards (as tends to happen with these things), there can be no question over Usyk’s dominance now.
However, rewind to a few years ago before the 37-year-old had even won his first fight against Anthony Joshua and Fury’s naive not to mention controversial comments regarding the possibility of ‘giving’ him a fight look pretty silly now:
Tyson Fury a few years ago refusing to fight Usyk
“I want the big fights and that ain’t one of them. He’s a foreigner in a westernised world. The heavyweight champion should be from Britain or America and nowhere else.”
As you can see in the interview from 2020, the now 36-year-old Wythenshawe-born boxer was pretty dismissive about the prospect of fighting Usyk, who ultimately went on to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000 following the first win over Fury.
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Despite already having an Olympic gold, multiple cruiserweight titles and an undefeated record to his name, Usyk had only fought and won two heavyweight bouts at this point, which is perhaps why ‘The Gypsy King’ felt comfortable downplaying his potential back then.
However, although Usyk had a comfortable division debut against Chazz Witherspoon in 2019, he also went on to best Fury’s familiar foe Derek Chisora – a man he’s beaten on three different times but maintains he admires both in terms of personality and ability – so there were signs of what was to come.
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Moreover, not only was Tyson clearly foolish enough to underestimate him back then but the divisive and inflammatory nature of his remarks in this clip has been labelled ‘offensive’ and ‘xenophobic’ by many online, both at the time and after reappearing on social media once again.
Regardless, it seems that Usyk was just as unphased by his posturing then as he is now, coming out in the post-fight press conference to shrug off his trash-talking to reiterate his “respect” for someone who ultimately believes is “a good man”.
Nevertheless, Fury has now lost two him twice and still maintains he didn’t get the right decision on both occasions, dubbing this latest defeat “an early Christmas gift” for his opponent.
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In the previous clash, the Greater Manchester athlete even claimed that fans and judges unfairly favoured him because of the war in Ukraine – a response which also received plenty of backlash.
You can hear how he believes he was ‘robbed’ along with his full reaction following the fight down below:
Featured Images — iFL TV/Sky Sports (screenshots via YouTube)
Sport
Manchester set to host five UEFA EURO 2028 matches – including England’s opening game
Emily Sergeant
Manchester has been confirmed to be the host of five matches at the upcoming UEFA EURO tournament in 2028.
This also, crucially, would include England‘s opening match, should they qualify directly.
The joint announcement by Manchester City and Manchester City Council today comes as UEFA has now released key details about the UK & Ireland 2028 competition – which, as it stands, is less than 1,000 days away.
It has been confirmed that the Etihad Stadium – which is known as The City of Manchester Stadium when not relating to Manchester City football club – will host four Group Stage matches across four different groups, offering both local and international football fans the chance to see a range of different national teams in action.
On top of this, Manchester will also be the host a Round of 16 knockout match as the tournament progresses.
UEFA EURO 2028 will kick off at the National Stadium of Wales in Cardiff on Friday 9 June 2028, culminating in the Final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 9 July 2028.
Across the UK and Ireland, nine stadiums will host matches during the upcoming tournament – with other northern stadiums including Everton Stadium in Liverpool, and St James’ Park over in Newcastle.
More than three million tickets – as sold by UEFA – are set to be available for the tournament, and more information on this will be issued in due course.
Following an independent assessment, UEFA EURO 2028 is expected to generate up to £3.6 billion in socio-economic benefits for the UK and Ireland between 2028 and 2031, with benefits including job creation, regional growth, and direct spending from international visitors.
The countdown has started in Manchester for #EURO2028!
Five matches are scheduled to be played here – including England's opener if they qualify – and more than 300,000 fans will be welcomed to the city in June 2028.
“We’re a city where football runs deep in our DNA, and we’re counting down the days to UEFA Euro 2028.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Sport
Man City to open latest Greater Manchester club shop at Trafford Centre
Danny Jones
Manchester City Football Club are set to open another brand-new store at the Trafford Centre, and just in time for Christmas.
With the festive period approaching, plenty of people will be looking to buy the latest shirts and merch of their beloved team, and with the Blues now a bigger brand than ever, they’ve put plenty of time into levelling up the club shop experience.
Their third in Greater Manchester, all told, it’s also set to be one of their largest to date.
Credit: The Manc Group
Although confirmation of the plans came back in October, City have officially announced themselves in the Trafford Centre this month.
With the hoardings going up over on Peel Avenue – the section of the huge mall arguably most well-known for its multi-storey John Lewis department store – they’ll be opening their doors just next to the branch of Waterstones.
In fact, you definitely can’t miss it because not only is there a giant MCFC badge plastered over the windows, but it also happens to be right next to the big Christmas tree.
This comes after sports and streetwear franchises like Gymshark and Urban Outfitters joined the North West tourist attraction, not to mention the massive Zara and Bershka sites that opened recently, as well as other global names like Pop Mart.
An idea of what the new Man City store in the Trafford Centre could look like, based on the Arndale shop. (Credit: The Manc)
Put simply, there’s been plenty of new arrivals this year, and there are several others to come.
Although we’ve not got an exact opening date just yet, the posters displayed across the window simply read “Coming November”, so Cityzens won’t have to wait long.
Furthermore, job vacancies for retail roles working within the upcoming location are already listed on the official Trafford Centre careers page.
Last but not least, there are scheduled be a number of other new openings in the shopping arcade, leisure and entertainment destination, so keep your eyes peeled on socials for more info soon.
Danny Jones -
22nd December 2024 
