When: Saturday, December 21, 2024 – ring walks for main event at about 1am (22:00 GMT)

Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Professional records (W-L-D): Fury (34-1-1), Usyk (22-0-0)

Wins by knockout: Fury (24), Usyk (14)

Height: Fury – 206cm (6ft 9in), Usyk – 190cm (6ft 3in)

Reach:  Fury – 216cm (85in) Usyk – 197cm (78in)

Follow the fight LIVE: Al Jazeera will run a live page for the build-up and text commentary from 18:00 GMT on Saturday, December 21.

At a media event a few weeks ago, Oleksandr Usyk asked Tyson Fury to sign a photo for him and the Englishman affably obliged, even though it turned out to be an unflattering image of Usyk landing an overhand left punch to the jaw that scrambled his senses in their last fight in May.

The Ukrainian’s narrow victory in that thrilling contest in Riyadh made him the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in nearly 25 years and inflicted a first professional loss on Fury.

Back in Riyadh this week for the highly anticipated rematch, the humour and affability have dissolved.

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“I’m going to dish out a whole lot of pain. I’m going to put this f****r in the hurt locker, for sure,” Fury, 36, said at the final media conference on Thursday night.

When it was put to Fury that he’d had a menacing edge all week, the usually garrulous fighter known as the Gypsy King replied:

“The talking’s been done. The first fight, I talked, I joked – all my career [I’ve done that]. This time I’m serious.”

Usyk, 37, was even more taciturn.

“Now, we have just a performance; the talks, cameras, light and show,” he said. “Everything is going to be taking place on Saturday night.”

Given the opportunity for a face-off in the final media conference before their last fight, Fury wouldn’t even look at Usyk, preferring instead to stare into the crowd.

This time, they locked eyes and a bizarre stare-down began to unfold. Several minutes passed in silence before they started to trade barbs, Fury eventually jabbering insults and sweating under the lights. The face-off had time to move through phases: amusing, dull, excruciating, interminable. They were finally pulled away after the 11-minute mark.

That both men mean business is hardly surprising, given what’s at stake.

Combat sports commentator Sean Wheelock says although Fury is “clearly one of the greatest heavyweights of this generation”, his rematch against Usyk is a “crossroads” fight for the British boxer.

“I don’t think he has to retire [if he loses], but I don’t think that he would be seen as being in that upper echelon, ‘elite of the elite’-level heavyweights. That’s why I think this fight is so pivotal for him,” he told Al Jazeera.

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While Fury has won five out of five of his rematches, Usyk – who moved up to heavyweight several years ago after becoming a unified champion at cruiserweight – is an unbeaten conundrum looking for a win to cement his status as an all-time great.

Tyson Fury (R) and Oleksandr Usyk faced-off for a bizarre 11-minute period at their news conference on December 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia [Richard Pelham/Getty Images]

‘Infinitely winnable’ fight for both men

Fury showboated in the first few rounds of their first fight, mugging and clowning in the corner of the ring and putting his hands behind his back as Usyk looked to walk him down, and the British fighter appeared to have taken control by the middle of the fight, racking up rounds while fizzing jabs and whipping uppercuts into the Ukrainian’s torso and jaw.

But the course of the fight changed in the eighth round as Usyk began to catch Fury, hitting him with a brutal overhand left that bloodied his face. In the ninth round, Usyk landed a barrage of punches that sent Fury teetering around the ring, eyes glazed, until he came to a precarious slump against the ropes and was given a standing count by the referee.

Fury was saved by the bell and somehow recovered to make it to the end of the fight, which Usyk won by split decision.

Combat sports analyst Luke Thomas told Al Jazeera he was surprised by how much Fury backed up in that fight, surrendering space to Usyk despite his considerable size and reach advantages, and enabling the Ukrainian to punish him against the ropes.

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“When [Fury] was able to move forward in command of the centre of the ring, he had a lot more success,” Thomas said.

He said Fury needs to get on the front foot in the second fight, throw a constant volume of punches, make Usyk defend and prevent him having time to settle.

“You have to rain on [Usyk]. He has to be stuck in a downpour with no umbrella, trying to find cover. And that’s a difficult thing to do because it’s so labour-intensive,” he said.

Fury told reporters this week that he will be doing less showboating and more punching in this fight.

Thomas says he has to make his body shots more telling.

“Usyk has shown at least some susceptibility to the body,” he said.

Of course, all of this is easier said than done. While Fury has supreme ringcraft and is wonderfully slick and elusive for such a huge man, many think Usyk is on another level.

Usyk’s fighting name is “The Cat”, due to his speed and agility. He pressures and torments his opponents, evading punches and setting up his own devastating shots with exceptional footwork, head movement, and a high guard.

“You’re dealing with a master boxer who knows how to solve just about anything,” Thomas said. “Usyk is one of the best boxers I’ve ever seen. He’s just so crafty, he has so many answers. He has such an ability to adjust.”

Although there’s a huge amount of respect between the fighters, the Ukrainian also appears to be utterly unfazed by Fury’s size or trash talk.

Yet, Usyk is going up against a dazzlingly skilled and brave operator who has shown an almost preternatural ability to defy the odds and bounce back.

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Fury won his first heavyweight titles in 2015 after he outclassed the great Wladimir Klitschko, then came back from severe mental health issues and obesity to defeat the knockout artist Deontay Wilder across an epic trilogy to win and retain the WBC belt. His ability to survive Usyk’s mid-fight onslaught was also astonishing.

Wheelock says the rematch is an “infinitely winnable fight for both men” and that whoever gains early momentum and establishes their range and rhythm will probably win.

“Usyk has to start strong, he has to move, he has to show his speed dominance, and he really has to land early and set the tempo,” he said.

“And Fury has to land from the outside. He has to gain Usyk’s respect early with power. And he has to really find those long, hard, powerful punches.”

Tyson Fury displays a more serious demeanour at Thursday’s news conference when compared with his first fight against Usyk in May 2024 [Richard Pelham/Getty Images]

Legacies on the line

Only three out of four belts will be up for grabs this time as the IBF stripped Usyk for not facing its mandatory challenger, Daniel Dubois, after Fury activated the rematch clause in his contract.

If Usyk wins, he could face the winner of Dubois vs Joseph Parker next, although he has also talked about returning to cruiserweight. If Fury wins, a trilogy with Usyk is near certain.

Thomas says while there’s no doubt that a second loss to Usyk would be “somewhat devastating” for Fury, it would not undo his achievements in the sport.

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“I think what he was looking for was like, unequivocally, to be this generation’s best, and therefore one of the best of all time. That would elude him [if he loses], but I think there’s no denying he still is one of this generation’s best and still a special figure who has been an electrifying force in this heavyweight division,” he said.

He says Usyk already has to be considered one of the greatest of all time.

“He’s the first guy to unify the belts in the four-belt era,” he said. “These are quite literally historic achievements that would put him in the conversation of being one of the best to ever do it, for sure.”

Oleksandr Usyk is looking for a repeat victory against Tyson Fury in the rematch on December 21 [Richard Pelham/Getty Images]