No professional opponent had been able to defeat Tyson Fury until Ukrainian Usyk’s performance in May to become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

This was the first time Fury didn’t have his hands raised at the end of a fight since Russian amateur Maksim Barbanin defeated Fury in 2007.

The Englishman’s unbeaten record has always been a source of pride. But heading into this Saturday’s live rematch sky sports box officeFury isn’t dwelling on the loss.

“As a boxer, I was undefeated for 17 years. That’s a long time,” Fury said. sky sports.

“I didn’t really have any thoughts. It didn’t affect me, I didn’t do anything different than what I would have done if I had made the decision.

“Whether I make a decision or not, I’m not going to do something fancy. I don’t really think about it being fair. I’m not even focused on the past, I’m just focused on the day in hand.”

But he cannot deny that the reversal has given him a new advantage in the rematch.

“Sometimes I think, if I’m going to play something, I think this (guy) made a decision about me, and I want to reverse that in the bubble,” he said.

“Obviously I’m a competitor, I’m very competitive. So I do think so.”

Top Rank’s Bob Arum, a co-promoter of Fury, is excited to see a fighter lose for the first time. “I think it really shook him up so he trained more seriously than before,” Arum told sky sports.

“In other words, he always trains hard, but his dedication to this one fight is far greater than any other fight except the second (Deontay) Wilder fight.”

Famously, after a controversial draw in their first fight with Wilder, Fury charged at the American and stopped him in their rematch.

Undercard fighter Isaac Lowe, who has trained with Fury since he was a kid and knows him better than most, believes the former champion will bounce back from this adversity as well.

“Looking at his record, when he gets knocked down or whatever, he always comes back and knocks the other guy out,” Lowe told sky sports.

“I’m expecting the best version of Tyson Fury. He’s got to do the right things, not too much different. Just little things, stay more focused and focused and I think a few little tweaks here and there will It’s different and I hope he does well this time.

“Throughout his career, everyone was dismissive of him. When he weighed 30 stone, before he boxed (Wladimir) Klitschko, when Wilder’s fight was At times like that, he always overcame the odds and did it.

“It’s really a stage this time.”

When Fury first fought Usyk, it was a high-pressure, high-level fight. But Fury’s youth provides another clue as to how he will respond to that defeat.

In 2006, Tyson Fury defeated David Price in the Northwest Finals of the ABA National Championship. This may sound like a small thing, but in the amateur circuit at the time, it was a big deal.

At the time, Macaulay McGowan was training with Fury at Jimmy Egan’s amateur boxing club.

Thinking back to the moment McGowan recounts sky sports: “It’s just the North West final. It’s massive. Tyson wants to get to the UK. Obviously David Price is an international Commonwealth gold medalist. He’s going to the Olympics. And suddenly here comes this 17, 18-year-old kid Out of nowhere, he started talking trash to him on shows like “Boxing News.”

“A few weeks later David Price didn’t even care about the ABA, but then he saw Tyson talking trash to him on Boxing News.

“It was a big fight. I remember it today, it was like an undisputed world title fight. He wanted to qualify for the 2008 Olympics and he got a chance to prove it.”

Fury lost the decision to Price. “He got a little frustrated, (thinking:) ‘I’ll never do that, I’ll never do that.’ And then he went back to the gym and he gritted his teeth and worked harder,” McGowan recalled.

“He won the ABA and turned pro after that. It was like water off a duck’s back for him. He just kept going. Don’t get me wrong, he had his lows, he was very frustrated, disappointed. , he was devastated and I didn’t know he didn’t want to feel this way anymore, so he pushed harder.

“I could see Tyson saying: ‘No, you’re not going to make it this time’ and putting his head down.

“I think he’ll come back stronger. Absolutely.”

The heavyweight rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will air live on Saturday, December 21 sky sports box office. Book Usyk v Fury 2 now!