According to the Ukrainian, Oleksandr Usyk created his own software to locate sparring partners so he could mimic Tyson Fury.
On Saturday in Saudi Arabia, Usyk will defend the unified heavyweight belts against Fury, while the British fighter will be vying for the WBC crown. If there is no draw, the match will determine the heavyweight champion for the first time in twenty-four years.
After switching to heavyweight in 2019, Usyk—a former undisputed cruiserweight champion—has performed admirably; nonetheless, Fury is a renownedly awkward opponent, fusing considerable stature with fast reflexes and a strong in-ring IQ.
It is therefore challenging to find sparring partners who can mimic the “Gypsy King,” but Usyk’s team has disclosed how he overcame the obstacle by using an AI-powered program.
Sergey Lapin, the man of the Ready To Fight app and Usyk’s camp manager, told The Daily Mail that finding sparring partners has gotten a lot easier since the program’s inception.
“To organize everything, you no longer need to call 100 people; it is all on your phone. Everything is clear and you may speak with a manager or a fighter directly. In actuality, Usyk got most of his sparring partners via the app.
“They hail from many nations across the globe. For instance, we are not connected to Africa, even if we have had a few sparring partners there.
However, it would have been difficult to locate men who were the same height, weight, and other characteristics as Fury without the app. Naturally, some of the individuals with whom Usyk had previously sparred made an appearance at camp this time as well. However, the great majority was discovered using the app.
Also, Usyk revealed his training schedule, revealing that he sparsed for fifteen rounds of three and a half minutes, with breaks of twenty seconds. According to reports, he has boxed more than 250 rounds in this camp, sparring with a different partner each time—using more than 40 partners in total.
Professional fighters Usyk, 37, and Fury, 35, will both come into the battle undefeated.
