Tyson Fury’s six sparring partners for Oleksandr Usyk rematch include world champion and ‘Britain’s Mike Tyson’

Tyson Fury has been sharpening his tools with several nimble southpaws ahead of his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.

The Mancunian fell to the first defeat of his professional career against Usyk in May but will get the opportunity to exact his revenge on December 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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Fury is leaving no stone unturned in preparation for their sequel and has drafted in six sparring partners of a similar height and build to Usyk, to emulate the pound-for-pound king’s style.

The most notable name of the lot is Kevin Lerena.

British boxing fans will remember Lerena as the man who dropped Daniel Dubois three times back in 2022 before succumbing to a stoppage loss in a shock turnaround.

The South African was recently elevated to WBC bridgerweight champion – a new weight class which sits between heavyweight and cruiserweight – after Lawrence Okolie vacated the green and gold strap to move up.

Another familiar face in Fury’s camp is British teenage sensation Moses Itauma.

Branded ‘Britain’s Mike Tyson’ by the national press for his all-action style and remarkable ability that defies his tender age, Itauma is widely viewed as a world champion in waiting.

Itauma has always received his flowers from ‘The Gypsy King’, who previously admitted he would avoid a fight with the 19-year-old.

“No, I definitely wouldn’t [accept a fight with Itauma]!” he replied last year.

“Do you think I’m stupid? No, no no.”

Itauma is set to face Demsey McKean on the Usyk vs Fury rematch undercard in what is anticipated to be his biggest step up to date.

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“I’ve got my own fight to think about,” Itauma told Sky Sports.

“We’re kind of similar styles, the likes of me and Usyk, we’ve kind of got a similar style so I feel like I’ll be very beneficial for [Fury].

“It just compliments me [being asked to spar Fury]. It compliments me but listen, I’m not going to go there just to help him.

“I want to gauge my ability off his ability. Obviously I’m looking forward to [that].

“If I don’t want to be aiming to go there, what’s the point of me being in this boxing game? I’m not here to mess around.”

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The other four contenders that Fury is sparring are not as well-known as the aforementioned names.

There is, Zhan Kossobutskiy (19-1), who suffered the sole blemish on his record at the hands of Efe Ajagba in 2023.

Kossobutskiy was disqualified from the bout after landing several low blows during the six-round duration and hasn’t fought since.

His best win came against former world title challenger Johann Duhaupas but inactivity has stunted his career.

The other three boxers: Fernely Feliz Jr (8-0), Alexis Barrière (11-0), and Aleksei Dronov (4-0) are all undefeated and early on in their fledgling professional careers.

Dronov appears to be the most promising prospect of the trio, having previously scooped gold medals at the Youth Olympic Games, Youth World Championships and European Youth Championships.

Meanwhile, Barrière is the Canadian heavyweight champion and Feliz Jr won the 2020 USA National Championships in the unpaid ranks.