Tyson Fury sent 'serious' message by Mike Tyson ahead of Oleksandr Usyk rematch

Mike Tyson has pleaded with Tyson Fury to take his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk seriously.

Fury will have the chance to claim three of the four heavyweight belts – Daniel Dubois now holds the IBF title – when he faces Usyk again in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, December 21. The Gypsy King lost a close points decision in May as he suffered the first defeat of his professional career.

However, former heavyweight king Mike Tyson insists Fury would have emerged victorious had he adopted a different approach. The 58-year-old insists the fight was lost in the early rounds when Fury was, in his words, “playing around”.

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Asked for his verdict on the rematch, Iron Mike told Fox Sports Radio: “Tyson Fury could have won that fight if he wasn’t playing around early in the fight.”

Pressed on whether he thought the Wythenshawe fighter would win the rematch, Mike merely said: “I want him to be serious enough.”

Fury, to his credit, has refused to make any excuses for the loss. Addressing rumours of training camp trouble ahead of the first fight, which was delayed after he suffered a nasty cut in sparring, the 36-year-old said during a face-to-face with DAZN: “Never once have I ever said I had any problems in camp because I didn't.

“I heard a load of d***heads talking s*** that I had a lot of problems in camp. But I didn't have any problems. I had a fantastic training camp."

Fury added: "He beat me fair and square, give the man his props. I don't understand why people have got an excuse like, ‘I lost the fight because I didn't train great’. Or, 'I