Russian fighter Artur Beterbiev has offered his assistance as Tyson Fury prepares for a potential heavyweight unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk early next year.
Fury will be bidding to become the first ever fighter to hold all four of the major heavyweight belts as he prepares to put his WBC title on the line in an attempt to win Usyk's WBA, WBO and IBF titles. Both fighters hold unbeaten records, with Usyk having previously been a world champion at cruiserweight level.
This means that Fury will be looking towards smaller fighters to help him prepare to face the Ukrainian and he has been offered the chance to do just that by Russia's Beterbiev. The unbeaten WBC, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight world champion faces a world title fight of his own against Anthony Yarde in January.
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Like Usyk, he is unbeaten as a professional but fought the Ukrainian in their amateur days and has given Fury the chance to tap into his knowledge ahead of a potential fight.
Beterbiev travels to London to face Yarde next month, fighting in the city which he last competed in at the 2012 Olympics where he lost to Usyk in the quarter-finals. This was part of a longstanding rivalry within amateur boxing between the pair who could face each other as professionals in the future.
Beterbiev announced his fight against Yarde on the same night that Fury beat Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions holding a press conference in North London.
He has since stated that he is willing to help Fury when speaking to the promotional company, after first touching on whether or not he is seeking to right the wrongs of his last trip to the UK's capital.
He said: “Yesterday is yesterday, now is the future, I’m more focussed for the future and to continue to be lucky.” Then, speaking about Fury’s potential clash with Usyk, Beterbiev added: “I will help Tyson Fury if he needs it.”
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