Harry Maguire and Zlatan Ibrahimovic have both sent messages to Tyson Fury ahead of the WBC champ’s undisputed title fight against unified champ Oleksandr Usyk.
Tyson Fury, who is a Manchester United fan, returns to action against Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The 35-year-old undefeated heavyweight boxer could make history by becoming the first undisputed champion of the four-belt heavyweight era in boxing.
Fury will put the WBC title on the line against Usyk, who will have his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO and The Ring titles on the line against the Manchester native.
The heavyweight division hasn’t seen an undisputed champion since boxing legend Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999 for the undisputed crown.
Fury has been out of the ring since his controversial split-decision win against MMA star Francis Ngannou at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh last October.
Usyk, on the other hand, last defended his titles against British heavyweight Daniel Dubois and secured a ninth-round stoppage win in August 2023 in Poland.
Ibrahimovic sends message to Fury
Tyson Fury, who captured the WBC title against Deontay Wilder in 2020, has been spotted at Old Trafford in the past supporting Manchester United.
The ‘Gypsy King’ was born in the Wythenshawe area and Fury has remained closely connected to his Manchester roots amid his boxing career.
Former United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic sent a video message to the undefeated WBC champ, which was shared on Instagram.
The 42-year-old Swedish former striker told Fury to do the “most important thing” on Saturday by beating the undefeated Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
“Tyson Fury, what’s up? Hope you had a good pre-camp preparation. You look good you look sharp,” Ibrahimovic said.
“Enjoy the fight. I’m pretty sure you know what you have to do. And I’m pretty sure you will do what you have been doing always: making history.
“Be yourself. Go in there and dance and make us enjoy. But the most important thing: do what you’re able to do and that’s winning.
“Go out there and have fun and make sure you win, like always. Make history and we will be watching.”
Maguire speaks out on Fury ahead of Usyk fight
Harry Maguire opened up about his admiration for Fury and insisted that he would be “supporting” the ‘Gypsy King’ in his fight with Usyk.
“I am really looking forward to it. It is a fight that everybody wants to see,” he told The Sun.
“We are both WOW Hydrate ambassadors and I have been in contact with Tyson over the last few years now so I will definitely be supporting him.
“I wish him all the best and hopefully he will get the job done like he has in all of his previous fights.
“He is a great guy. He is obviously like what you see on TV.”