Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to run it back on December 21 in one of the most hotly-anticipated rematches of the decade.
Last time out, Usyk handed Fury the first defeat of his professional career via split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Since then, Usyk has been forced to relinquish his IBF strap, which is now in Daniel Dubois‘ possession.
The winner will be crowned the WBA, WBC and WBO champion but regardless of whether all four belts are on the line or not, whoever emerges victorious will be considered the best in the world.
Given how close their inaugural encounter was, members of the boxing fraternity are divided on who they think will win their second meeting.
Six-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya has gone back and forth over his pick but now he’s finally settled.
Asked if he thinks the second fight will be different, De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV: “Yes I do, just by knowing certain facts that Tyson was going through.
“It doesn’t mean Usyk is going to come with everything. He’s going to be better, faster, wiser, tougher.
“He’s going to know how to handle Tyson ’cause of the first fight and the confidence he has…
“I think Fury, his head is going to be there for once. We didn’t know what happened, the tragic news that took place, do you know what that does to a fighter?
“Let’s talk about the heart Tyson has to go in there. Anybody would have cancelled.
“Tyson goes in there and fights Usyk, unbelievable. So I really see this fight as a 50-50 fight, but I have to give Tyson the edge.”
The tragic news De La Hoya is referring to is the miscarriage Fury’s wife, Paris, suffered on the eve of the Usyk fight.
“She lost [the baby] on the Friday of the fight, which was pretty s***,” Fury told assembled media.
“I am not making excuses but she was six months pregnant. It’s not like a small miscarriage at the beginning.
“You have to physically give birth to a dead child, on your own, while your husband is in a foreign country.
“I could not be there for her, in that moment, and that is tough for me.
“I have been with the woman for longer than I wasn’t with her, so it is hard that I couldn’t be there with her…
“When she said she couldn’t come over, I knew there was a problem.
“She usually comes out on fight week but she had high blood pressure and couldn’t come.
“I asked her what was up and to tell me but she wouldn’t. So I knew.
“I knew. I knew there was a problem. I said to my brother: ‘She’s lost that baby’.
“She never told me she had lost the baby, but I knew. When I got back I got the inevitable confirmation that it was gone but she kept it to herself.”
