No professional opponent had defeated Tyson Fury, until Oleksandr Usyk’s brilliant display in May saw the Ukrainian become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
It was the first time Fury’s hand hadn’t been raised at the end of a fight since Russian amateur Maksim Babanin beat him in 2007.
The Briton’s undefeated record had been a great source of pride. But going into the rematch, which takes place this Saturday live on Sky Sports Box Office, Fury has not dwelt on the loss.
“I was undefeated for 17 years as a boxer. That’s a long time,” Fury told Sky Sports.
“I haven’t had any thoughts about it really. It hasn’t affected me I haven’t done anything different to what I would have done had I got the decision.
“I wouldn’t have done some fancy something different if I’d have got the decision or didn’t. I’ve not really thought about it to be fair. I don’t focus on the past even, I just concentrate on the day in hand.”
But he couldn’t deny the reverse has lent him a new edge for the rematch.
He said: “Sometimes I think about, if I’m going for a run in something, I think about right this [person] has got a decision over me, I want to reverse that in the rematch.
“Obviously I’m a competitor, I’m competitive. So I do think like that.”
Top Rank’s Bob Arum, who co-promotes Fury, sees a fighter fired up by that first defeat. “I think it really shook him up and therefore he’s trained a lot more seriously than he did before,” Arum told Sky Sports.
“In other words he always trained hard, but the dedication for this one is far and above what it’s been for any fight other than maybe the second [Deontay] Wilder fight.”
Famously, after a controversial draw in his first fight with Wilder, Fury stormed into the American and stopped him in their rematch.
Undercard fighter Isaac Lowe, who since he was a child has trained alongside Fury and knows him better than most, is convinced the former champion will rally from this adversity too.
