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”.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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…
Erling Haaland has named his four favourite films… and fans have a lot to say on it
Emily Sergeant
Erling Haaland has answered the all-important question.
The question heard around the world, the question on everyone’s lips, a question that has absolutely nothing to do with football whatsoever… that’s right, he’s answered Letterboxd’s famous question of ‘what are your four favourite films?’.
If you’re unaware of what Letterboxd is, it describes itself as being an ‘online diary platform and app for film lovers’ and it gives users the chance to display their four favourite films at the top of their profile for all to see (and judge).
An extension of this has then been Letterboxd asking celebrities in press junket interviews and on red carpets what their ‘four faves’ are – and it’s gone on to become something of a phenomenon in the film world.
Everyone from massive A-list movie stars, to indie darlings and up-and-coming names have answered this question before, and now (it appears) to be Erling Haaland’s turn.
He’s not the first footballer to be tasked with question though, as the entire Spurs team was ambushed with it by former player – and famously massive cinephile – Alfie Whiteman last year, but it’s fair to say that after the summer he’s had with Norway at the World Cup, achieving international fame in the process, that Haaland is one of the most high-profile to answer it in a long while.
So, what’s on Erling’s list then?
Well, to self-confessed ‘film bros’ out there, you’re not going to find any deep cuts in this selection unfortunately, and you’re probably not going to get any recommendations for movies you haven’t seen before either, but come on, he is only a footballer after all.
Erling Haaland has named his four favourite films… and fans have a lot to say on it / Credit: Letterboxd
First up for the Manchester City striker is a pretty common pick by straight white men, it’s The Wolf of Wall Street, and he doesn’t give much of a reason for it, other than just suggesting: “I think you understand why”.
He then follows that up with Ridley Scott’s classic Gladiator, calling it ‘amazing’, before naming 2004’s epic Troy, and then rounding it out with a Christmas favourite for many, Home Alone, adding that he ‘watched it a lot as a kid, and then again now’.
As for fan reaction to Haaland’s four favourites, let’s just say it’s been mixed.
Among the 1,000+ comments on the Instagram video, you’ll find just as many people called him ‘king’ and saying he has ‘goated’ taste, as you will comments like this: “He has the most male gazed top four in history of Letterboxd.”
Manchester City reveal world-first third kit… designed by AI
Daisy Jackson
Manchester City have just revealed the club’s third kit for the season, and it’s a world-first AI-designed kit.
The new Man City and Puma kit was revealed in full this morning after days of teasing on billboards across Manchester.
For the first time in professional football history, the kit is designed by a fan, using AI.
180,000 fans submitted designs through the Puma AI Creator, with the winning design now projected on some of the city’s biggest digital billboards – on Market Street, and at Printworks.
Created by lifelong Cityzen and stills photographer Elliott, the final design is inspired by Manchester City’s iconic 13/14 season away shirt.
Elliott’s creative interpretation was crowned in January 2025 after a global fan vote.
The digital billboards show each different stage of the AI design process, from prompt to finished design, with the tagline ‘designed by one of us, chosen by all of us’.
The AI Man City kit reveal
Eagle-eyed Man City fans may have noticed a cryptic ‘loading’ screen in town on Tuesday, with just a hint of the shirt visible.
Then on Wednesday, the screens displayed: “AI prompt accepted. Fan vote confirmed. Final Manchester City 26/27 Third Kit design processing.”
Then the full reveal has taken place today, Thursday 27 August, finally unveiling the full shirt with the words: “Designed by one of us. Chosen by all of us”.
Reacting to live images of the billboards, Elliott said: “Seeing my complete design revealed on billboards in the city centre this morning was unbelievable.
“City has been part of our family’s life for as long as I can remember, so this is as good as it gets for me.
“Creativity is naturally part of my everyday life as a photographer, but it was good to turn my hand to something else and see what could be created with the use of AI.
“The 13/14 away shirt was always my favourite, so it felt like the natural starting point for my prompt. From there, it was amazing to see the technology take that spark of an idea and turn it into something I could actually shape and refine.
“To know that a shirt I designed on my lunch break will now be worn by the players is something I still can’t quite get my head around!”
The 26/27 Manchester City Third Kit will be available at mancity.com/shop and Manchester City Official Stores, with 10% off for Members and Seasoncard holders (automatically applied when logged in with a Member account online).
Danny Jones -
16th May 2024 
