Oleksandr Usyk is ready to ‘explode’ against Dereck Chisora and remains fully focused despite a future fight with Anthony Joshua in the balance.
Usyk is currently the mandatory WBO heavyweight challenger, but he would lose that position if he fell to his 36-year-old British opponent on Oct. 31.
His fight with Chisora is taking all his attention, having been out of the ring for competitive action throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
MORE: How to watch Usyk vs. Chisora
Speaking to Matchroom Boxing ahead of the match he said, “I’ve been waiting for it for a long time, but I’ll be more happy when I enter the ring and hear the bell for the first round.”
Asked about showing the public his training routines on social media, the 33-year-old Ukranian heavyweight explained he was trying to engage with a younger group of boxing fans.
“People need to know more about boxing. My intention was to bring more attention to the sport.
“I think we fighters need to build up the fight but in a clean manner, and I also analyse what modern people want to hear. Modern people spend time on the internet.
“They want to see how we train, and the kind of exercises we do in our camp. It’s all part of the sport.”
With the fight imminent, Usyk said he was, "locked in myself, accumulating, and I’m going to explode on Saturday night.”
The former undisputed cruiserweight champion was aware that his opponent poses him a big threat.
“I don’t care much what people say. I know this big guy will try to bring damage to me.
“Everyone thinks he is an angry, mad animal, but I know he is very kind in his heart. All he needs is boxing.”
While acknowledging that Chisora is a dangerous boxer in his own right, he said that his opponent was “probably right” he would have to “eat a lot of leather” in order to take his mandatory challenger designation.
Chisora has promised Usyk the 'fright of his life' on Hallowe’en, but Usyk dismissed the claim out of hand by saying, “I don’t think he is the biggest fright of my life, because he doesn’t know my life. I’m not sure what I’m afraid of.”
Usyk also refused to look too far into the future when asked about his potential fight with current four-belt champion Joshua, who has hinted in the past he will vacate the belt, and a mandatory challenge for the WBO championship, in order to make his long awaited fight with Tyson Fury.
However, he was reluctant to take his eyes off his upcoming fight: “I’m not thinking of the next fight before I’m finished with the one ahead of me.”