If the stare down was anything to go by, fight fans could be in store for a stubborn battle on Sunday AEDT.
And that can only mean good things for the viewing public when Tyson Fury tries to avenge his loss to Oleksandr Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO champion.
Usyk won a split decision the first time and became boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years. Since then, the Ukranian gave up the IBF title now held by Daniel Dubois.
Usyk secured a narrow victory on two scorecards, 115-112 and 114-113. The other judge favoured Fury, 114-113.
Through the first seven rounds, Fury was ahead on each scorecard, but Usyk began to rally. Usyk nearly finished off his British opponent in the ninth, when he was credited with a knockdown before Fury was saved by the bell.
Tyson Fury showboated to the crowd in the first match up. Main Event
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) has had his game face on since fight week began, telling reporters he won't be clowning around like did in the first fight and had not spoken to his wife in three months during camp.
"I'm going to dish out a whole lot of pain and put this f—– in the hurt locker," said the ex-champion.
"I've got nothing to say except there's going to be a whole lot of pain. I've talked and joked my whole career, but I'm going to do a whole lot of damage on this f—–."
Usyk was not as expansive nor did he exude as much aggression as his opponent, telling the waiting media, "Now we have just a performance. Everything is going to take place on the 21st."
But when both men came face to face for the customary face off – those in attendance were stunned by how long it took.
Tyson Fury (R) and Oleksandr Usyk face off ahead of the IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC and WBO Undisputed World Heavyweight Title fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury during a press conference as part of Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury 2 at Via Riyadh on December 19, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) Getty
By all accounts, both fighters stood eye to eye for over 11 minutes. WBC boss Mauricio Sulaiman came up on stage to see if he could get either man to break their stance but that didn't work.
After the 8-minute mark, Fury uttered some words and Usyk responded, then not long after, security came in and tried to pull Fury away. He objected at first before both men were split up.
Besides Usyk's three belts, there are legacies at stake. Usyk is 22-0 and wants to cement his place as one of the greats with a decisive victory.
The 37-year-old Ukrainian is also representing his country amid Russia's continuing military invasion. Fury is 5-0 in rematches.
The purse is a reportedly over $A300 million, though the fighters' cuts are not known.
The paydays could get even bigger if there's a trilogy fight. Fury said this week that if he wins, he'll want a third bout. Usyk said "we'll see."
Another big fight on the card will see promising heavyweight Moses Itauma puts his undefeated record (10-0, 8 KOs) on the line against Australian Demsey McKean (22-1, 14 KOs).
The 19-year-old Slovakia-born southpaw is a big puncher — none of his past six bouts have gone past the second round.
– with AP