Tyson Fury said he felt "on top of the world" after taking part in an open workout session ahead of Saturday's titanic heavyweight clash against Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh.
The two best heavyweights on the planet meet in a bout dubbed 'Ring of Fire' at Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Arena to determine the division's undisputed champion.
Both fighters will enter the ring boasting undefeated records. WBC belt-holder Fury has won 34 of his 35 fights with one draw while Usyk, who puts his IBF, WBA and WBO belts on the line in Riyadh, is perfect from 21 encounters.
"I'm on top of the world, baby!" Fury said after his workout session, when asked about his mood. "Who wouldn't be enjoying it?"
A visibly leaner Fury and an equally determined-looking Usyk were put through their paces at BLVD City – Music World ahead of one of the biggest fights in living memory.
The highly anticipated fight between the two best heavyweights on the planet is finally going ahead after their originally planned bout in Saudi Arabia in February fell through when Fury suffered a cut in training.
Not since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 2000 has boxing's blue riband division had an undisputed champion.
Speaking at Tuesday's 'Grand Arrivals', Fury, 35, insisted seizing the titles Usyk won from Anthony Joshua in 2021 to become the first heavyweight in history to hold all four belts simultaneously will be "epic".
“I cannot wait for Saturday night, it’s going to be epic. If I was fighting an old dosser on Saturday night who had five fights and lost them all, it’s still very important to win,” Fury said.
“Every fight I’ve ever had is important to win. Any six-rounder, eight-rounder, 10-rounder – all of them are important.
“I believe every left and right turn I’ve taken, every time I’ve fallen over, every time I’ve got up – it’s all been leading to this moment. It’s destiny.”
The week started ominously following a fracas between Fury's father and a member of Usyk's entourage that left John Fury with blood pouring down his face.
"It's a sport where you have big guys full of testosterone and things happen, emotions run high," John Fury said at the pre-fight open workout in Riyadh.
"Hear this: I mean no harm to any Ukrainian. I respect them, they're going through all their troubles. But listen, we're all fighters and that's what you get from fighters," Fury told the crowd.
Usyk earlier revealed he ordered his entourage not to react to the provocation, preventing the confrontation from escalating further.
“I said, ‘hey, Team Usyk, step back, please’. My team is very good if you want to fight. Not boxing but street, shooting, knives, wrestling,” he said.
“But I said: ‘hey guys, please back.’ We must do good behaviour.”
Usyk, 37, insisted it will be no distraction ahead of Saturday's clash where he will bid to become the first boxer in history to have unified both the cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions.
"Listen, we are professional athletes, we're not street fighters. It's a big event for our people, for the UK and Ukraine," he said.
"If you want a situation like to destabilise my team, it's not possible. Because it's not only professional sportsmen. It's professional soldiers, it's professional sportsmen, it's professional people.
"This situation for me doesn't matter, it's only motivation for my team."
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Results
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Persuasion
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
