Preview: Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk – heavyweight boxing fight

The contest will decide the first undisputed heavyweight champ in nearly 25 years, with both fighters unbeaten as pros.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – In the days leading up to their undisputed heavyweight title fight, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk seemed relaxed and eager to soak up the occasion, even as their camps taunted each other and clashed.

The biggest drama came early in the week, when Fury’s father, John, headbutted a member of Usyk’s entourage. But both the fighters had stayed light-hearted throughout the build-up – good-naturedly teasing each other, and grinning and showboating in their open workouts.

But on a baking hot Thursday evening in Riyadh, as the unbeaten fighters came together at the final news conference before the bout on Saturday, both grew terse and tight-lipped as the weight of the occasion seemed to press in.

Sitting opposite them, in the front row of a crowd of sweating journalists, entourages and VIP guests, was a grey-bearded Lennox Lewis, 58, and Evander Holyfield, 61. Lewis beat Holyfield in 1999 to become boxing’s last undisputed heavyweight champion.