Oleksandr Usyk didn’t even blink when he was asked if Tyson Fury was the toughest British boxer that he’d shared the ring with.

The 37-year-old pugilist bolstered his record to 23-0 while retaining his WBC, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles on Saturday, courtesy of a unanimous decision victory over the ‘Gypsy King’ after 12 hard-fought rounds. The win came as Usyk’s second triumph over the 36-year-old in the space of seven months, having also bested Fury via split-decision at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia back in May,.

And after sharing the squared-circle with Fury for a total of 24 rounds – or 72 minutes in total excluding corner breaks – the undefeated Ukrainian has nothing but a wealth of admiration for his long-time rival. When asked during Saturday’s post-fight press conference who was the most challenging British opponent that he has ever faced, Fury simply responded: “It’s Tyson Fury.”

The Ukrainian has faced a whole host of world champions from the United Kingdom throughout his 11-year career to date, triumphing over Tony Bellew with an eighth-round knockout in November 2018, defeating Anthony Joshua on points twice, and knocking out Daniel Dubois in the ninth round of their showdown in August last year.

However, Usyk is set on his belief that no man who he has had the honor of sharing the ring with has delivered him as tough of a time as Fury has. Elsewhere during the post-fight presser, Usyk admitted that he has a lot of respect for Fury as he has made him a stronger fighter.

He joked: “This is my best friend,” before adding: “I’m very respectful of this guy, because I think he’s very tough, my opponent. Tyson Fury makes me strong. Tyson Fury continues to – not like motivate me – but Tyson is a great opponent. He’s a big man, he’s a tough boxer.

Fury and Usyk have shared 24 rounds together

Fury and Usyk have shared 24 rounds together ( 

Image:

Getty Images)

“He’s a good man. Tyson is a lot of talk, yeah? It’s just show. I’m very respectful of Tyson Fury – 24 rounds, listen. Now it’s already history.” Dubois has made it incredibly clear that he hopes to have his own revenge on Usyk next year at some point, interrupting his post-fight interview from inside the ring to demand a rematch with the Ukrainian champion.

Dubois told Usyk: “Usyk, I want my revenge. I want my revenge Usyk. Well done on tonight, well done on tonight. God bless. I want my revenge for the robbery last time, let’s get it. Let’s go. Where’s Frank? Make it happen.” Happy to entertain Dubois’ challenge, Usyk turned to Saudi Arabian Advisor Turki Alalshikh, saying: “Make me fight with Daniel Dubois, thank you so much.”

However, during the post fight conference moments later, Usyk’s promotor Alex Krassyuk seemed a little more hesitant on the idea. He explained: “Dubois has to fight Joseph Parker, and this is a very tough fight for him. I have my bet with Joseph Parker so it’s too early to mention here Daniel’s name in regards to Usyk.”