Oleksandr Usyk responds to Tyson Fury's X-rated message as war of words hots up

Tyson Fury has sent an X-rated message to Oleksandr Usyk as the pair continue to build up to their heavyweight title rematch in December

Heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has remained tight-lipped in response to a message from Tyson Fury. The Ukrainian boxer made history by becoming the first man to defeat 'The Gypsy King' with a split-decision victory in Riyadh back in May.

This win saw the 37 year old become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. The turning point of their initial bout came in the ninth round when Usyk landed several powerful blows that nearly knocked Fury out.

The British boxer was left visibly shaken and was saved by the bell, leading many to believe the fight should have been stopped. The two are set to face off again in December in what is expected to be a thrilling night for boxing fans.

Both Fury and Usyk were present at Anthony Joshua's loss to Daniel Dubois. Following the main event, footage surfaced of 'The Gypsy King' commending Usyk on his "boxing lesson'' to both Joshua and Dubois.Despite the former heavyweight champion coming across as polite during his encounter with the Ukrainian, it appears the 36-year-old has now ramped up the trash talk ahead of the rematch. In a post to Instagram, Fury uploaded a picture of Usyk landing a punch during their first encounter back in May. The Brit captioned to photo: " given to both Joshua and Dubois.

The former heavyweight champion, known for his polite demeanour, has seemingly upped the ante with some trash talk ahead of his rematch with the Ukrainian. Fury took to Instagram to post a picture of Usyk landing a punch during their first encounter back in May, captioning it: "You had your shot but couldn't finish the job! Mistake! Now your about to feel the wrath of A menace! F*** @usykaa f*** @klimasmanagement f*** @alex.krassyuk and if your down with Usyk then f*** you 2! Gypsy king 2024 coming for you! Dec 21 is mine. Me against the world. Incoming 3x heavyweight champ! " Usyk, however, responded with respect and humour to Fury's message on his official Instagram page, saying: "You're really cool, my friend.", reports the Mirror.

The former cruiserweight world champion also revealed that he and Fury had exchanged pleasantries after Joshua's clash with Dubois, before asserting his confidence in winning the December bout.

He told Boxing King Media: "A little bit [they spoke] yeah. 'How are you' blah blah blah. This is my friend. Of course, he's like my brother. I too love my London fans. When I win the second time with Tyson Fury, I don't know what's next, I want to rest with my family."

With the hotly anticipated rematch fast approaching, Tyson Fury has shockingly admitted he hasn't started training yet. Speaking about his preparation for the fight, he said: "I haven't started training yet. I won't go into camp for a good while. I think I've got 13 weeks today until my fight. So, I'll probably start training in about six weeks for it. I do about six/seven weeks training for these fights usually and I'll be ready to rock and roll on the night. Roll on December 21, come on! "