Oleksandr Usyk: Fabio Wardley on ‘psychological warfare’ with unifying world heavyweight title Boxing News

Fall 2018. Called up for a fight with then lightweight contender Oleksandr Usyk.

From there, Usyk’s friends would pick him up and drive him to the hotel, where any conversation was almost impossible due to the language barrier, where he would wait to be picked up the next morning to start with the 2012 camp Spend eight weeks there.

Six years later, Wardley is the reigning British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, retaining his belt following an epic draw with Frazier Clark in March, while Usyk is preparing for another undisputed fight The clash – this time with Tyson Fury for the world heavyweight championship, the richest prize in sport – will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday, May 18.

Those two months spent in Ukraine helped Usyk prepare for Bellew’s eighth-round stoppage, and he continued serving Wardley, who at the time had only four professional fights under his belt, and who knew the WBO, The WBA and IBF champion will square off as he prepares to take on WBC king Fury.

“Fighting him was like a mental battle, maybe even more intense than the physical battle,” Wadley said. sky sports.

“Because he does a lot of little things that make you anxious, make you nervous, make you think, make you guess, make you wonder what his next move is, what his next plan is, how is he going to feel about approaching you?

“Would he be going through the same thing? Would he be doing something different? It puts you under constant pressure, almost like being aware of it. So, there are a lot of nuances in sparring… I Discovered over time.

“When I actually met him, his sparring team and everything, they were very hospitable, very friendly and just really welcoming people. I was young and fresh and green at the time and was treated very well throughout. Care, but as far as camp goes, there are no fancy tricks, fancy lights, just no fancy anything – it’s just pure grit, hard work and bare bones.

For Wadley, the austere nature of Usyk’s training camp underscores his overall lifestyle, which is unconcerned with the trappings of fame or material wealth even as he reaps the rewards of high-profile championship runs.

Fury also said he would remain in the bargain chain if he became the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Briton Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999 Aldi shopping, and Wadley believes Usyk’s single-minded attitude is a big part of his success.

“I think you can tell from him that he’s not interested in this stuff,” Wadley said. “You don’t see him driving a Rolls-Royce or wearing a big old gold chain or anything like that.

Fighting him is more of a mental battle than a physical one

“So, he doesn’t make a fuss about those aspects, and then I think that transfers over to his training as well. He knows that having a nice bag of gold isn’t going to make him a better boxer at all.

“It just looks better aesthetically, but it doesn’t have any real impact on making him a better fighter or anything like that. So, I think he’s very, as everyone knows, very fundamentally sound, This carries through to how and how he fights.

Usyk (21-0 (14)) set up an undisputed showdown in Riyadh last August after stopping Daniel Dubois, while Fury (34-0-1 (24) ) Ngannou defeated former UFC heavyweight champion Francis in his most recent fight in a crossover event in Saudi Arabia in November, winning via split decision.

Wadley expects Usyk’s biggest challenge against Fury will be his 6-foot-9 opponent’s height and reach advantage in the game, but he also sees areas he can exploit, though he thinks a win over DuBo Is brings a lot of problems.

“Fury tends to feel relaxed and comfortable with the way the fight is going,” Wardley said. “If it’s moving at a comfortable pace and he feels like he’s coming off the jab and he’s boxing relatively well, then He can happily settle into a very repetitive rhythm.

“A guy like Usyk can recognize that and change the tempo very quickly, change the framework of the situation, and he can completely change the way the fight is going to be fought again and be sharp and dynamic and perform very differently.

“I think both of them have had issues with their performance before, and it raises a lot of questions for both sides, so who is the favorite? Really, I don’t know.

“I think in terms of favorites, I think in terms of people that I’ve talked to in the industry, I think a lot of people are leaning toward Usyk. It’s more of a mentality-based thing; I think he’s more focused on the task. Focus on the job at hand and focus even more on the task at hand.

How to book Fury vs Usyk fight at Sky Sports Ticket Office

It’s one of the biggest sporting events in a generation. Tyson Fury and Alexander Usyk The undisputed heavyweight championship of the world is up for grabs live on Sky Sports Box Office on Saturday 18 May. Book a fight now.