Holy sh*t.
The Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk trailer released Wednesday may very well be more exciting than their long-awaited Feb. 17.
In case there’s any question about what the Saudi budget for the event is, it appears it’s one zillion dollars. This is unsurprising if you watched the Super Bowl halftime show-esque performance during the Francis Ngannou vs. Fury fight in October… or really any sporting event they’re involved in.
There’s so much going on during these 164 seconds that I needed a couple of viewings to wrap my head around it.
The tone is set early with an appearance and subsequent narration from Paul Anderson, of “Peaky Blinders” fame. (Interesting timing on that cameo).
From old-school Western outlaws to Roman gladiators to pirates to anime, Fury, Usyk, and Anderson travel around the cinematic universe before they transform into boxers again.
The long-awaited undisputed heavyweight battle #RingOfFire between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is set to unfold 🔥 Let's get ready to RUUUUUMBLLEEEEEEE 🥊
النزال التاريخي المنتظر لبطولة الوزن الثقيل #RingOfFire بين تايسون فيوري وأوليكساندر اوزيك 🔥
نشوفكم جميعًا في المملكة… pic.twitter.com/FHkYT6tCHr— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) January 31, 2024
The cinematic art has been lost in the shuffle of the balls-to-the-wall combat sports scheduled in 2024.
In recent memory, Ngannou vs. Fury one was great – also Saudi-backed. Eagle FC’s brief international expansion provided a fantastic trailer for the card headlined by Sergei Kharitonov vs. Tyrone Spong. A “Baywatch” parody trailer by KSW also comes to mind.
The UFC prints money and probably isn’t interested in spending a little more if it doesn’t have to, but I miss the days of the Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo meet-up on the Las Vegas strip with “No Church in the Wild” playing, and Brock Lesnar surprising the world as he bellowed “Can you see me now?” after an intense gaze from Bruce Buffer.
It’s unfair to compare trailers when this one has the backing of a bottomless pit of Saudi Arabian money, but this does serve as a valuable reminder of what a good pre-fight trailer can do in hyping a fight.
The Blue Corner is MMA Junkie’s blog space. If you come complaining to us that something you read here is not hard-hitting news, that’s on you.
