Lennox Lewis has predicted what will happen if the “Gipsy King” loses the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. On Saturday, Fury, 36, and Usyk, 37, will square off once more in a tantalising world heavyweight title bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lewis accomplished the feat in 1999 when he defeated Fury by split decision in their first battle back in May.

Although Usyk still has the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles, he is no longer the undisputed champion; British fighter Daniel Dubois is now the owner of the IBF title. At a heated pre-fight news conference on Thursday, Fury vowed to throw the Ukrainian in the “hurt locker” and stated that he is focused on reclaiming three of the titles this weekend.

In the lead-up to the rematch, Fury has reduced his typical showboating.
Lewis, a former heavyweight champion, thinks Fury’s actions during fight week are a deliberate strategy to give the British fighter a psychological edge before the battle.

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“We know that Tyson Fury blows up, we’ve seen his history and know that he can get a little manic before a fight,” Lewis told SPORTbible.

“This is part of the role he takes to get him in a better mood for the fight. Looking at Usyk and saying ‘I hate you, I want to beat you up and knock you out’, and he’s actually seeing the man while he’s saying it – it gives him strength.”
When asked to give a prediction for the fight, Lewis was reluctant to pick a winner but was certain about one thing – that it promises to be a spectacular watch.

“This fight is going to be epic, anything can happen in this fight. It’s really down the man seizing the moment,” he added.
“Whether it’s the guy who has a good corner, has the good information coming out, his energy in the fight is up – not getting tired and ready to fire back.

“Usyk is a natural counter puncher, he waits for you to punch so he can punch back. And if you’re not punching, he stays on the outside an picks you apart. So you’ve got two amazing fighters.

“What is going to happen? Anything can happen! It only takes one punch to create history.”
People are speculating that Fury might hang up his gloves for good after facing Usyk but Lewis thinks otherwise and believes two potential fights could happen next.

“If Tyson Fury loses, I would say he probably won’t retire. The biggest fight for him is Anthony Joshua and that’s another great fight,” added Lewis.
“If he does win, I don’t think he’ll retire because it will be 1-1. I always love the trilogy and I’m looking forward to that one.”