Tyson Fury is all set to lock horns with Oleksandr Usyk In what will be a fight for the ages. After the fight being put off on more than one occasion, the two heavyweights will battle it out on Saturday night. That said, Tyson Fury’s latest actions at the final press conference have garnered a lot of attention.
For those unaware, Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk to determine the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. Thus it is one of the most anticipated bouts in recent boxing history. After much delay and deliberation, it will finally go ahead on May 18, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena.
THE ONE THE WORLD WAITED FOR.
WELCOME TO FURY-USYK FIGHT WEEK 👑4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/2J5GfaNYfO
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 13, 2024
Owing to Tyson Fury’s bout with Francis Ngannou and other injury-related delays, the fight has stalled for quite some time. Now with the final fight week proceedings almost out of the way, the two titleholders are set to clash for their unification bout, which is expected to be the first of their two fights.
Tyson Fury avoids all eye contact with Oleksandr Usyk in their faceoff
For the most part, the build-up to the fight has been quite intense. Despite numerous setbacks, both fighters are quite composed and determined that they can get the victory. Despite their being a lot of wild exchanges during fight week, with John Fury’s recent altercation, both fighters have been looking to keep their calm and carry out their business on fight night. Following the final press conference, both fighters also came together for a face-off.
However, instead of them being face to face, it was more face to shoulder for Oleksandr Usyk as Tyson Fury straight up refused to look his opponent in the eyes. Quite a possibly a move to assert his dominance, as part of his mind games, Fury acted as cold as ever. In the past, we have seen Tyson Fury look his opponents in the eye and on occasions, when fighting a fellow countryman like Dillian Whyte, also embrace them in a friendly manner.
MIND GAMES.
🇬🇧🏆 @Tyson_Fury refuses to make eye contact with 🇺🇦🏆 @Usykaa.#FuryUsyk | MAY 18 12PM ET | @ESPNPlus PPV pic.twitter.com/41L3ip9fzT
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) May 16, 2024
However, considering the high stakes and the undisputed heavyweight crown up for grabs, Tyson Fury is doing all that he can to put on a front against Usyk. Notably, he even did his open workouts in southpaw rather than his natural orthodox stance. That said, many drew comparisons with between Fury and Jon Jones after the latest faceoff.
Why does Jon Jones avoid making eye contact during faceoffs?
For those unaware, Jon Jones is the UFC heavyweight champion and the former light heavyweight champion. Owing to a long, unblemished tenure, Jones has established himself as one of the greatest of all time in the sport. During his heyday, Jones faced some of the most ruthless fighters in the world, often going to great lengths to beat them.
That said, over the course of his career, many noticed how Jones would often look away from his opponents during faceoffs. As such, the fans wondered for a long time before ‘Bones himself revealed the true reason behind his actions. According to Jones, he does not look directly into his opponent’s eyes as:
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“Bc It’s not anything personal, they’re all amazing characters in my story”.
Notably, in one of the occasions where Jones did make eye contact with his opponent, things escalated into an all out brawl. Ahead of UFC UFC 178, Jon got into a full-fledged altercation with Daniel Cormier in the lobby of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. Thus considering what had transpired earlier on in the week, it is likely that Tyson Fury felt the need to avoid any further drama or invoke any strong emotions.