Usyk has been banned from performing his traditional ritual before the rematch with Fury
Alexander Usyk will be prohibited from bringing a specific item into his corner for the rematch against Tyson Fury for the world heavyweight title, which will take place on Saturday evening. This was announced by his promoter, Frank Warren, who explained that the ban was imposed after a rules meeting before the fight on Friday.
In their first encounter, when Fury suffered his first professional defeat, Usyk found his second wind in the second half of the fight. He especially shone in the eighth round, landing several hard punches, and then nearly knocked out the Brit in the ninth. After the fight, it became known that Usyk kissed his crucifix necklace between rounds.
Although this ritual was simply a way to calm the Ukrainian, Fury's team was not pleased that Usyk might repeat it in the rematch, so they submitted an official request to prevent it from happening. As a result, during the fight, in which Usyk will defend his world titles from the WBA, WBC, and WBO in the heavyweight division, fighters will be allowed to touch only water.
Additionally, there were initial suspicions that Usyk used an inhaler, which would have violated the rules. Therefore, this time it was decided to ban any items other than water. An inspector will monitor the corner to ensure no prohibited items are present, and if anything is found, it will be confiscated and checked.
Fury's team sees this as a significant victory, as it disrupts Usyk's usual ritual, and in a high-level fight like this, even a small psychological advantage could prove decisive.
Alex Olise
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
