Tyson Fury's sudden body transformation left Oleksandr Usyk surprised

Tyson Fury left Oleksandr Usyk and the boxing world stunned with his trimmed-down figure ahead of their epic heavyweight title clash last year. It's been nearly a year since , the WBC heavyweight champion at the time, faced off against , who held the remaining three major belts, marking the first undisputed heavyweight championship fight since Lennox Lewis emerged victorious in 1999.

Before the showdown in Saudi Arabia, Fury poked fun at Usyk's size, hinting that the smaller Ukrainian might struggle against one of boxing's largest heavyweights. However, Fury turned heads when he appeared leaner than expected during their pre-fight encounters.

Usyk expressed his surprise at Fury's appearance in an interview with DAZN, admitting: "Yeah, a little bit, a little bit, like, skinny." Alexander Krassyuk, Usyk's promoter, chimed in with a playful quip: "Looks skinny. Who's the middleweight now?

"That's because he's nervous. When you get nervous, you lose weight," Krassyuk said.

The 'Gypsy King', ever the joker, responded to Krassyuk's comment by feigning concern: "I'm very nervous, Usyk," Fury said. "Please don't beat me up on Saturday night. Please. Extra, please."

When they faced off, Fury tipped the scales at 262lbs (18.7 stone), almost 40lbs heavier than Usyk but still over a stone lighter than his previous fight against Francis Ngannou.

Fury revealed he had been sticking to a 6,000-calorie daily intake, which he slashed by half on rest days. Yet, Fury's trainer SugarHill Steward clarified that the WBC champion's improved condition wasn't about shedding pounds for the Usyk fight.

"It's not even that he's lighter, he's just more fit," Steward told . "He hasn't dropped a bunch of weight just to get down low.

"It's just weight where he can be stronger and more mobile and agile and everything else. It takes some work to get there and he's at the point in his life where he wanted to get there. So this is where it's at."

Despite being in top form, Fury didn't win over the judges, losing by split decision. A rematch in December saw him bulk up to a career-high 20st 1lb, but Usyk dominated again, with a unanimous 116-112 verdict from the judges.

Fury announced his retirement on social media after the fight, yet rumours swirl of a potential clash with Anthony Joshua. Meanwhile, Usyk gears up for a July showdown with Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium, a sequel to their initial 2023 encounter.

Speculation continues over whether Tyson Fury will come out of retirement again, as he has done previously. However, he has responded to Oleksandr Usyk's hint at a possible third fight.

"Beat the f***** two times the world knows the truth," Fury declared in response to an Instagram post by Stomping Ground. "Any time, any place. Sucker, UK next time 100k people."