Oleksandr Usyk Keeps Tyson Fury Rivalry Alive With New Comments

“Is that still a fight you want ‘Greedy Belly’?” analyst Ade Oladipo asked Usyk during the interview.

“Yes. ‘Greedy Belly’ win [against Arslanbek Makhmudov] is good,” said Usyk.

Usyk then described reacting anxiously during parts of the fight after Makhmudov landed clean shots in the fourth round.

“Fourth round, Makhmudov landed some,” said Usyk. “I was going, ‘Oh, be careful. Hands up, what you do? It’s bad.’”

The exchange sounded less like promotion and more like a technician watching another heavyweight make mistakes in real time.

Usyk has barely spoken publicly about Dubois despite Dubois climbing off the canvas twice to stop Fabio Wardley in the 11th round last Saturday. He captured the WBO heavyweight title in the process.

That silence has become noticeable because Usyk has already stopped Dubois twice. Fury, meanwhile, still appears to occupy a completely different place in Usyk’s thinking despite losing to him two times.

“A lot of my friends send me, ‘Your friend win. It’s good,’” said Usyk about Fury’s victory over Makhmudov.

Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight champion during his rivalry with Fury before the WBO title later returned to circulation. Dubois now holds that belt, but Usyk’s recent comments suggest he still views Fury as the defining opponent of this stage of his career rather than a completed chapter.

A third Fury fight had appeared dead after Usyk’s second win last December. Fury’s comeback against Makhmudov changed the conversation again.

Usyk returns to the ring on May 23 when he defends his WBC heavyweight title against Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.