Wladimir Klitschko mocked Tyson Fury's call-out of Oleksandr Usyk by appearing to brand his former rival a clown.
Fury is expected to take on heavyweight rival Usyk in a clash for all four belts which would crown the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. The pair's teams are locked in talks to stage the showdown in spring, with just a venue and date appearing to hold up an official confirmation.
After week's of social media silence over the festive period, Fury made a call-out video yesterday addressing Usyk's recent "belly" video which began their trading of verbal barbs. He shouted: “Rabbit, I’m coming for you, rabbit, you’re getting it, rabbit. And I’ll tell you what else, I’m gonna bust you up real bad, you little middleweight. I’m going to slap you into a big pile of tattoos, sucker. Come on!"
It came with the caption: “This is the call out Oleksandr Usyk. Middleweight. I AM COMING FOR YOU. #RunRabbitRun. You know who I am. The Gypsy King. There’s only ever been one. Come get some!” Underneath, Fury's former rival Klitschko decided to back his countryman, responding with a clown emoji in the comments section.
Fury defeated Klitschko in a historic title grab on foreign soil in 2015, outboxing the Ukrainian and becoming the unified champion. The pair have not come across each other since that day, but it is understood Klitschko and Fury are not on entirely civil terms given the heated nature of their rivalry.
Klitschko has always sided with Fury's rival Anthony Joshua having shared the ring with both men and admitted he held 'AJ' with higher respect than the WBC champion. The boxing legend even contemplating coming out of retirement to renew their rivalry last year.
Who do you think will win - Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk? Let us know in the comments section below
He told Piers Morgan Uncensored : “That’s where my passion is. And honestly, I was thinking I should just take Tyson Fury and tweet, ‘Last dance?’ Since he wants to retire and we were supposed to have this rematch, I was thinking about it. I didn’t do it because my mind was in a totally different world. But I was really thinking I should send this, I should tweet this, ‘Last dance?'"
Fury has already formed a rivalry with Usyk having come face-to-face with his potential foe in the ring after his recent win over Derek Chisora. During their staredown, the Ukrainian stayed silent and watched as Fury screamed a tirade of warnings in his face as they talked up the huge battle.
He shouted: "Usyk you are next you little b****." You are getting it you little p****," Fury screamed. "I am not a bodybuilder. you sucker I am going to do you as well gappy teeth. You ugly little man. Let's get it on. You may laugh but I will end it now."
