Tyson Fury used Deontay Wilder's "one champion, one name, one face" catchphrase to call out Oleksandr Usyk after his latest win.
Fury returned to the ring on Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where he dominated and stopped Derek Chisora in a heavyweight trilogy. The 'Gypsy King' was under heavy scrutiny from ringside as Usyk watched on before stepping up and confronting his fellow champion in a bid to stir anticipation for a potential undisputed fight.
The 'Gypsy King' confirmed he intends to take on Usyk next, with a meeting set to take place in spring next year, despite news he will require elbow surgery before the event. And when assessing a potential clash, Fury used the famous words of his former trilogy rival Wilder before praising Usyk's ability in the ring.
"I'm ready and willing to take on Usyk, whether it is in Saudi Arabia or back here in the United Kingdom," he said at the post-fight press conference. "Let's give the fans one champion, one name, one face. He's not an easy boxer to figure out, he's slick, a southpaw, moves well, coming in on good form and I look forward to the challenge.
"But for whatever reason, if we're not able to do that, then we will have Joe Joyce at Wembley. I'll do Usyk and then Joyce at Wembley as well. People have been asking me who is the tougher fighter and I think Joyce gives me a tougher fight. Usyk came here tonight to do a fight. Ringside, stood there, got in my face. He wants to fight.
"I said to him [Saudi royal Prince Khalid], 'Let's not mess around, let's get this fight over the line'. He said, 'What do you think I'm here for? I'm here to put it on'. Let's hope it can be made for early next year and we can get on with it."
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Wilder famously used the catchphrase after ousting Luis Ortiz in their heavyweight rematch in 2019, tweeting the words in bold after retaining his WBC title. The 'Bronze Bomber' will join a whole list of potential opposition for Fury next year if he is to win his WBC title eliminator against Andy Ruiz Jr.
He will join Usyk and British heavyweight Joyce in the pecking order, with the latter also ringside to watch Fury's one-sided win. And Fury believes a fight against 'The Juggernaut' will be tougher than the potential challenge of the Ukrainian champion. He said: “People have been asking me all night, ‘who is a tougher fight, Usyk or Joyce?’
"In my opinion, Usyk is the slicker boxer, but Joe Joyce is ‘The Juggernaut’, and I think Joe give me a tougher fight than Usyk, 100 per cent. Big Joe, 6’7”, and 19 1/2 stone like a juggernaut coming forward at me, trying to smash me to pieces, or Usyk trying to steal a jab, running around the ring, trying to nick a point here and there."
