TYSON FURY has been hit with a “tampering” warning ahead of his undisputed heavyweight showdown with Oleksadnr Usyk on February 17.
Fury, who holds the WBC heavyweight belt was issued with the claim by Usyk’s former coach, James Ali Bashir.
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Bashir, 72, said Fury would be unable to “tamper” with the mind of Usyk prior to the bout and will be left incapable of using the mind games that have proved so successful for him in the past.
He also warned Fury that the Ukrainian will be able to infiltrate his own head in the lead-up to the fight.
Speaking on boxing YouTube channel Seconds Out, Bashir said: “He [Usyk] is going to be out there to win that fight because he knows what undisputed means.
“He knows what that means and so does Tyson Fury, that’s why I say it’s a tough fight. This is more of a mental fight than it is a physical fight.
“I don’t think he can tamper with Oleksandr Usyk’s mind. If anything, Oleksandr Usyk will tamper with Fury’s mind. I think that Oleksandr Usyk is a master of the mind games.
“I think that he is in this fight all the way. I just want to get me a bag of popcorn and sit down, I wanna watch this.”
He did go on to say that he thinks the bout will be a close call.
Both of the fighters, despite being top of the heavyweight game, have had poor showings in their last outings.
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Fury was left floored in the third round of his exhibition match against UFC legend Francis Ngannou and went on to win the match under controversial circumstances.
Usyk also had to survive a scare against Daniel Dubois in August, when he was floored from a punch to the midriff.
After a lengthy stoppage, it was declared that the punch was an illegal low blow, but Usyk was hardly impressive on the night.
Bashir added: “He [Usyk] has a very good opportunity.
“But the Tyson Fury that we saw in the (Francis) Ngannou fight will be a far cry from the one that we will see in the Usyk fight.
“Because Tyson Fury will be totally prepared to be a big guy, 6’9 and 280 or 290lbs, whatever he is going to come in at.
“He is a good boxer, he is agile, he is slick, he is confident and he knows what he is doing out there.
“I think that this is going to be a tough fight for both guys, but I think that Oleksandr Usyk has a good, good chance to edge Tyson Fury in this fight.”
“I think that Tyson Fury will do what he does, put pressure on him, he will lay on him, the mauling, the brawling and he has a good jab.
“To be a big guy he has a really good jab, he knows how to work his weight and he is agile.
“It’s a tough fight but I can see Oleksandr Usyk winning on split decision and I see Tyson Fury winning on unanimous decision.
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“It’s a tough fight for both guys, but Oleksandr Usyk is not your run-of-the-mill fighter, no, he is a focus guy, he is a tough guy.”
Either way, an undisputed heavyweight champion will be crowned on February 17 for the first time since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.
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