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…
Bayern Munich reportedly set to target Phil Foden in the summer transfer window
Danny Jones
European giants Bayern Munich are said to be interested in homegrown Manchester City star, and are interested in signing him this coming transfer window.
And if you believe some of the reports circulating around the Stockport-born footballer, he could very well be looking to leave the Etihad in the summer.
Foden seems to have somewhat fallen out of favour at Man City of late, having been benched in four of the last five games, with his overall minutes having been on a gradual slump over recent months; as a result, some sources are suggesting it’s prompted a potential move away.
As per TEAMtalk, the Bundesliga side is hoping to target the City youth product and England international ahead of next season, with former teammate turned Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany very keen on acquiring his services.
Man City have stepped up efforts to secure Phil Foden's future with talks held during the international break and confidence is now growing that a new deal will be finalised before the end of the season, amid Bayern Munich interest, @TEAMtalk can reveal.https://t.co/ScBP5a3a08
Whether or not having a club and Premier League legend in charge would serve as a sweetener for the attacking midfielder or not, who knows?
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, while the gifted playmaker is said to be “frustrated” with the current situation at Man City, the club are believed to have “stepped up efforts to secure the long-term future of Phil Foden, with fresh talks held during the international break”
Having still managed to chip in with 15 goal contributions so far this campaign – two-thirds of those involvements being goals – the hope is that they can tie him down to a new deal long before the end of the season.
There’s no question about his natural talent and versatility across the forward line; it’s just whether or not he’s happy with his game time under Pep Guardiola, which admittedly has often fluctuated ever since he broke into the first team.
Pep has never made a secret of his love for Phil, either; he’s just not afraid to mix things up and try different things given the squad depth at his disposal and other teams in the division becoming increasingly competitive.
It’s also worth noting that many expect him to be in Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineups for the Three Lions at this year’s World Cup.
At present, Foden’s contract is set to expire at the end of the next term (2026/27), but it’s rumoured that he could soon commit to staying until 2030 on paper.
Now 25, the once up-and-coming youngster/’rising star’ is now a fully-fledged senior professional and serial winner.
With many years still ahead of him, you could argue that this is the perfect time to take on a new challenge, or equally, stay with his beloved Blues and extend their modern dynasty as one of the more experienced and decorated members of the dressing room.
As for whether Kompany can convince him to swap his familiar surroundings for a fresh chapter in Germany, or whether or not another big Champions League-level outfit monitoring the situation could come sniffing, only time will tell.
For now, let’s just hope he has an incredible few weeks over in North America this June and July.
A free snooker fan zone has popped up in Manchester for the 2026 Tour Championship
Danny Jones
We’re sure plenty of you are well aware that this year’s WST Sportsbet.io Tour Championship is happening in Manchester right now, but what many of you may not know is that a completely free snooker fan zone has opened up as part of it.
You don’t need a ticket for any of the actual matches to watch them on the big screen or even play one of your own.
However, it isn’t just the buzz inside the match room itself that the World Snooker Tour has brought on its return to the city centre – even the supporter hub outside is well worth a visit.
Based over at Manchester Central on the Exchange side of the building, while the games themselves are taking place in the main rooms, the foyer and surrounding areas have been turned into a fan park.
Perfect for anyone looking for a fun way to spend an afternoon or, indeed, a full day this week – not to mention an ideal activity for kids this coming Easter bank holiday weekend – if you’re a fan of the sport, you’d be a fool not to at least pop your head in.
Running until this Sunday, 5 April, when the tournament itself finishes, snooker lovers have access not only to a bar area with multiple big screens and food and drink, but also numerous free tables for them to play on.
In fact, you quickly turn a few frames into some proper practice if you’re so inclined, as there’s even on-site coaching to be made the most of.
As you can see, people of all ages have already turned up in their droves to soak up the atmosphere.
Once again, the competition is being broadcast live and free-to-air on Channel 5 if you’re happy to watch the games at home, but we don’t need to tell you what makes sitting in a room with a bunch of fellow fans and getting excited together so enjoyable.
If you visit the Manchester Central convention centre before the end of the week, you can even have a go at playing on a proper king-sized snooker table for the full pro-feel experience.
For anyone who wants to grab actual tickets for the matches as well, you can find them HERE.
Danny Jones -
16th May 2024 
