Tyson Fury is unconcerned about his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk losing its status of being an undisputed heavyweight title fight, according to his manager Spencer Brown.
Fury in May lost to Usyk in the first undisputed heavyweight title fight for 25 years when, as a fighter who makes little secret of his admiration for his profession’s history, he had spoken of his ambition of earning the status last enjoyed by the great Lennox Lewis.
Fury lost the most entertaining of fights and swiftly agreed to a rematch on December 21, but Usyk vacating the IBF title and it since being awarded to Daniel Dubois means that even if he avenges his only defeat and records his biggest victory he will emerge only with the WBA, WBO and WBC titles.
As recently as Wednesday his long-term rival Anthony Joshua, who is challenging Dubois on September 21 at Wembley Stadium, spoke of the satisfaction he is taking from contributing to denying Fury the opportunity to win the undisputed title, but Brown, who has talked to his fighter regularly since the defeat by Usyk, said: “Tyson’s not really bothered about it. The last couple of weeks, he’s enjoying himself. He’s having a great time in his life with his kids, and he just wants to put boxing behind him. Does a belt bother him? No.
“He’s been on various holidays to places. He doesn’t go to extravagant places – he went to Chester the other day. I saw him at the weekend in Blackpool – he had a day out with the kids. He’s not an extravagant guy. But as for the belt, it is what it is. It’s a boxing match.
“He will become undisputed champion. We’re 1-0 down. It’s half-time. There’s a second half. You’ve gotta remember, Usyk’s team’s the greatest team in the world. They graciously took up the rematch, and it’s just another fight – to Tyson it’s another fight, and one he will win.
“Belts are leather and metal, aren’t they? Do you wake up in the morning and think, ‘I want to see that fight but it’s not for the undisputed…’. Does it change your mind [about wanting to see it]? It’s a shame, but that’s the way it is. It’s life. It is what it is. Let somebody else step up and be world champion. Tyson’s not bothered.”
The winner of Dubois-Joshua is on course to fight the winner of Usyk-Fury II, potentially presenting Fury with a chance to fight for all four titles in 2025, but Brown insists that his fighter has come to place greater value in a potential victory over Usyk.
“What I’ve seen in Tyson – I’ve spoken to him and had lengthy discussions about it – he’s really up for this fight,” he explained. “It’s not about money. It’s not about the good times. It’s not about this. It’s not about that. It’s about him winning, and taking back what he believes is his right, and he wants his championship back. It doesn’t matter anymore. All he wants to do is win. Forget the money; forget everything. From what I’ve seen of him he’s very focused about getting that [victory] back.
“Tyson’s a jovial, laughing character. He’s a really nice man. He’s not got a violent bone in his body. But we’ve already started preparing – put it that way. We’ve already started preparing – we’ve already had chats about what we’re gonna do; what went wrong. It could have gone either way – he got caught in the ninth. That sealed the fight. How much does he need to correct? It was very close, wasn’t it? We think he’ll be 25 to 40 per cent, maybe 50 per cent, better in this fight. It was a fine margin.
“He’s in a great place. He’s laughing; he’s joking. He’s took his defeat very, very well. He’s took it like a proper man, and he’s gonna come back and we’re gonna win.
“I was confident last time – really confident last time. But you’re not just battling Usyk, you’re battling a phenomenal team. His team are the best. His trainers; his backroom staff; his managers. Everybody’s top of the tree. [But] I think Tyson will win this quite comfortably. He knows what to expect now. He got caught on the nose as well – if I was honest, I think [he struggled with that for a couple of rounds]. I spoke to everybody concerned – because he broke his nose – and it took him out of it.
“He’s that confident. ‘Don’t worry about it – I’ve got it covered.’
“We’re taking it one fight at a time now. We’re at that stage of his career – it’s one step at a time. We’ve gotta beat Usyk again, never mind any other fights. Fuck the other fights. This is the greatest fighter Tyson’s likely to ever face. It’s up to Tyson then. If – when – he beats Usyk, it’s up to him to decide what he wants to do after that.”