This Saturday sees the highly anticipated Heavyweight World Championship rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the event on December 21, Fury spoke to Al Arabiya’s Riz Khan about the fight, Saudi Arabia being the sporting place of moment for the second time in a week after FIFA announced the country would host the 2034 World Cup, and what Fury really thinks of a potential future fight with Anthony Joshua.
Watch the full interview here on the Al Arabiya English YouTube channel.
When asked by Khan if Fury underestimated Oleksandr Usyk, Fury said:
“No, I didn’t. No, no. He got a decision over me. He won by one point in a close fight. Good luck to the guy. And we’re going run it back on Saturday and it’s gonna be victory for me.”
Khan put to Fury that millions of fans are eager to see him fight Anthony Joshua. When pressed if Fury versus Joshua time in the ring would happen or a Fury Vs Usyk trilogy as encouraged by His Excellency Turki Al Sheikh could take place, Fury added:
“Yes, I think it will happen. When I win on Saturday night, I think there’s gotta be a trilogy next year for sure. Joshua’s in tatters at the moment. He has got to pick up the pieces from his last fight. But the fight with Usyk – one on Saturday and the one afterwards would be fantastic for me.”
Fury also gave his thoughts on what he expected after Saudi Arabia has been announced as the hosts of the FIFA 2034 World Cup:
“First of all, congratulations to Saudi on getting the FIFA World Cup. I think it’ll be a fantastic event. Any sports event that’s held in Saudi is usually a marvellous event. So I’m sure the biggest sporting event on earth – the FIFA World Cup – will be even bigger. It’s been a fantastic opportunity for me to come here and showcase in Saudi Arabia. I’m also getting the biggest fights that’s possible on earth.”
Read Al Arabiya English’s article on the interview.
About Riz Khan:
Riz Khan is a veteran broadcast journalist who started his career with the BBC in the UK, working in radio and then television, and joining BBC World as part of the launch team – where he co-presented the first show in November 1991.
He was headhunted to join CNN in the US to help launch CNN International in 1994. In 1996, Riz launched the world’s first live, interactive global talk show, “Q&A with Riz Khan” that featured leading global newsmakers in politics, business, entertainment, sports, and the arts, all taking live questions from viewers across the world reaching over 450 million households.
In 2004, Riz joined Al-Jazeera as the founding director to launch Al-Jazeera English in 2006 where he hosted the live, daily interview show, ‘Riz Khan’ and weekly, ‘One on One with Riz Khan.’
Riz Khan is currently a presenter for one of Al Arabiya English’s flagship interview
shows. Returning to traditional journalist values of debate the show brings balanced perspective and gives the audience a chance to ascertain facts for themselves in an informed and educated manner.
About Al Arabiya English:
Al Arabiya English is the leading source of news and opinion from the Middle East for English-speaking audiences around the world. It is a 24-hour digital news platform publishing breaking news, politics, business, features, opinion and lifestyle. With a headquarters in Dubai and correspondents across the region, Al Arabiya English presents a globalised view of the Arab world to audiences across five continents.
