"He has to win": former world champion from Russia answered the question whether he will support Usyk in the rematch with Fury

Former world heavyweight champion Denis Lebedev has admitted that he will be rooting for Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in his rematch with Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). According to the Russian, our compatriot is the favorite to fight again against the Gypsy King, as the British boxer is called.

Lebedev said this in an interview with the propaganda outlet Russia Today. The Russian representative noted that the opponents have had the perfect time to prepare for the rematch, and the second fight will probably be similar to the first boxing duel.

"I think having the rematch in December is good for both of them. They'll get a good break to rest and prepare. Usyk and Fury are great athletes, and the date is not so important for them. Everyone is in the same conditions. This is a super-heavyweight division. Here, any punch can decide the outcome of any fight. One missed shot and the fight is over. The question is who will hit. Fury doesn't need to add anything. I think Usyk should win for the second time. It's not that I don't believe in Tyson, but I'll be rooting for Oleksandr," Lebedev said.

Before that, he named the problems of the Gypsy King in his rematch with the Ukrainian. And another Russian former world champion, Grigory Drozd, gave his prediction for the second fight between Oleksandr and Tyson.

It will be recalled that in the first fight, Usyk defeated Fury by split decision - 114:113, 113:114, 115:112 - and became the absolute world heavyweight champion.

A month after the fight , the Ukrainian was forced to give up the International Boxing Federation (IBF) belt, for which Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) fought on September 21.

Later it became known that the IBF left Usyk no choice. This situation outraged the head of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Dana White. The Ukrainian himself commented on his decision for the first time. Fury and Usyk will rematch on December 21. The fantastic prize money for the second fight is already known.

Our compatriot shared his expectations from the second fight with Tyson and responded to the accusations of cheating during the fight with Fury on May 18. In addition, Oleksandr commented on the injury he received in the fight.

The Ukrainian announced his radical plan to continue his career after the rematch with Tyson. Usyk named the most difficult moment of the fight with the Briton. Our boxer also spoke frankly about his opponent.

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