Tyson Fury warned major change needed for Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Anthony Crolla has suggested that Tyson Fury's corner needs to be 'addressed' ahead of his highly anticipated heavyweight rematch with Oleksandr Usyk later this year. Earlier this year, Usyk became the first fighter to defeat 'The Gypsy King' in a professional bout after scoring a split-decision victory in Riyadh.

The pair are set to face off again in December in what is expected to be an exciting night of boxing. Following their initial fight, Fury's corner, including his father John, faced criticism when footage revealed them telling Fury he was leading and didn't need to push for a stoppage.

Ultimately, only one judge concurred, with the other two favouring Usyk. There have been calls for Tyson to remove his father from his team ahead of the rematch.

Peter Fury, who trained his nephew for his first world title win against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, stated after the fight that there were too many voices in the corner. Speaking to Freebets.com, Crolla shared his thoughts on the first clash back in May and maintains that Fury is 'very confident' ahead of the rematch on December 21.

"He's looking really well, he's speaking really well, seems on it, very confident,'' he said. "You never know with Tyson, he comes out with some mad stuff but he genuinely looks in a great place. I'm really looking forward to it," reports the Mirror.

"Another tough one, but he more or less had the fight won last time at the halfway stage. He'll target Usyk's body a bit more this time I think, he's got a great chance of putting it right but Usyk finds a way to win, his adaptability is unbelievable. After the first fight, I'd put Usyk as favourite but wouldn't be surprised if Tyson avenges it."

When asked about potential adjustments for the upcoming rematch, Crolla commented on the need for clarity in Fury's corner: "A few adjustments to be made, he (Tyson) got a lot of stick last time but I don't know how much it affects Tyson because he is that kind of character, I think he does a lot of thinking for himself," he said.

"The corner certainly needs addressing, I'm a big believer of one voice in the corner, one clear voice so we'll see, but they'll be the kinds of adjustments he'll make."

Despite suggestions for change, Fury has expressed confidence in his existing setup. In a conversation with Paul Dempsey about his tactical approach for the rematch with Usyk, Fury was dismissive of making significant changes: "Not much time," he stated. "I know what I've got to do, nothing drastic. People can say 'I want to change trainers or I'll blame it on me conditioning coach or I'll blame it on the cook or I'll blame it on the mouse next door.

"Same team, same everything. I know what I've got to do. I thought I won the fight last time. I give him, me boxing all my life and watching boxing me whole career, I give him rounds eight, nine and ten, and round nine was a 10-8.

"So that's what I give him out of the fight, but obviously the judges saw it a bit different, couple of them did. One of them had me winning. That's what it was. It was as close as it can be."