Tyson Fury is a character. There is a reason that ‘The Gypsy King’ calls himself the best heavyweight since Muhammad Ali. After all, the former heavyweight champion, like ‘The Greatest’ is first and foremost an entertainer, who knows how to hype up a fight and serenade the fans with his trash talk. But, in the final press conference ahead of his rematch with unified champ Oleksandr Usyk, none of Fury’s joviality and trash talk was on display.

Why? Well, because the Englishman is deadly serious. After all, he lost his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk – the first in nearly twenty years – mostly because he got too comfortable and started showboating after dominating the initial rounds. However, this time around, for their December 21st rematch, Fury is all business.

“I’m gonna dish out a whole lot of pain. I’m gonna put this f***er in the hurt locker, for sure. I’ve got nothing else to say apart for there’s gonna be a lot of hurt and pain in this fight. Talking’s been done. You know, in the first fight, I talked, I joked – all me career. This time I’m serious. I’m gonna do some f***ing damage here,” ‘The Gypsy King’ said menacingly at the press conference.

But this actually is a very good way to market the fight. After all, anybody who is even remotely a boxing fan knows this fight is happening. What better way to get those fans who are on the fence about buying the PPV than to promise sheer violence and carnage in the fight? This is why the Englishman’s warnings got a lot of appreciation from none other than Conor McGregor, who is himself an expert at hyping up fights. “Excellent,” ‘Mac’ wrote on his Instagram Story along with a clip of Fury’s warning.

As for Usyk? Well, it looks like the Ukrainian is backing down despite the warning from the former heavyweight champion. Ever-stoic outside the ring, his fearlessness was on full display when he faced off against Fury after their presser, ahead of their clash on Saturday. Let’s take a closer look.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk engage in intense, eleven-minute face-off ahead of Saturday clash

A few months ago, Tyson Fury refused to look Oleksandr Usyk in the eye during their face-off. This time around, however, things were very different. Not only did Usyk and Fury meet each other’s gaze, their eyes brimming with fire and intensity, they did so for eleven long minutes!

After a few minutes of staring into each other’s souls, the duo started exchanging words. To the point that people got alarmed and ‘The Gypsy King’ had to be dragged away from Usyk, even as the former champ kept shouting heatedly at the Ukrainian. After all, this is the most important fight of both men’s careers.

While the stakes in the first fight were higher, it ended in a split decision victory for Usyk. This combined with the feeling that Fury had let that fight get away from his fingers didn’t really prove who the better fighter was. This time around, however, both men look set to answer that question once and for all. Whoever wins that fight on Saturday, what we can say for sure based upon their tense press conference is that the biggest winner will be the fans.

What do you think about Conor McGregor’s praise for Tyson Fury over his menacing press conference comments? Let us know in the comments down below.