‘The Gypsy King’ is desperate to avenge his defeat to the Ukrainian next weekend, but has faced calls to remove his father John from the team ahead of the sequel

Boxing legend Anthony Crolla has hit out at Tyson Fury ‘s corner during the Brit’s first clash with rival Oleksandr Usyk – but believes there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with having Fury Snr in the corner for the sequel.

Usyk, 37, handed Fury the first defeat of his professional career back in May, securing a razor-thin split-decision victory in Riyadh. The two heavyweight stars will settle the score once and for all on December 21 in what promises to be a mouthwatering rematch.

Following his defeat earlier this year, many boxing legends, including Ricky Hatton, have called for Tyson to remove his father John from his corner ahead of next weekend’s showdown. With a little over a week to go until the two heavyweight giants go glove-to-glove again, Crolla has weighed in on the corner debate in the first meeting – labelling it a ‘shambles.’

Speaking to Razed, he said: “There’s no denying last time that the corner of Tyson was a bit of shambles. You had a lot of great boxing brains in there but there’s no denying that the corner was a shambles. There might be one voice this time in the corner with SugarHill Steward who is the head coach, Andy Lee who has a great brain, and John Fury who knows his son very well.

“When it’s time for Tyson to sit down in the corner, it might be time for one clear voice, and I believe that’s how it should be. I think Tyson will win the rematch, and I have always said I believe he is the best heavyweight in the world.”

With many wondering whether Fury will once again have his father ringside with him in Riyadh, Crolla believes there’s nothing wrong with having John in the corner and believes he’ll be under strict instructions this time around.

Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury rematch for the unified world heavyweight championship on Saturday December 21; the Riyadh Season event will be live on Sky Sports Box Office; promoter Frank Warren explains why Fury has the capabilities to stop Usyk in second fight

Tyson Fury may not have won his first fight with Oleksandr Usyk but he now knows the keys to victory in the rematch, says promoter Frank Warren.

After losing a split decision to Usyk in their undisputed world heavyweight title fight earlier this year, Fury will rematch the Ukrainian on December 21, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Usyk, the undefeated, unified WBC, WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion, excelled in the first contest with Fury, shaking up the Briton so badly in their ninth round that he took a count.

• Book Usyk vs Fury 2 – Sky subscribers
• Book Usyk vs Fury 2 – Non Sky subscribers
• Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW

But Fury had plenty of success earlier in the fight too and Warren, who co-promotes the former world champion, is convinced that overall the contest took a greater toll on Usyk.

“I do [think it took a toll on Usyk], in that particular fight,” Warren told Sky Sports. “I went to both the fighters’ dressing rooms afterwards. I was in Tyson’s dressing room and obviously he was very disappointed, he felt he’d done enough to win the fight. It was a close fight.

“There was a lot of life in him and I went into the dressing room to congratulate Oleksandr and he knew he’d been in a tough fight… That’s the toughest fight he’s ever had.

“At the time they were worried he’d broken his jaw. His manager told me an implanted tooth was impacted into his gum. That was a grueling fight for both of them. Fought at a high pace, lots of punches being thrown, it was a tough, tough fight.

Warren thinks Usyk will have to box the same way he did before – “but better” – to win, but recognizes Fury can vary his approach for the second fight.“He [Fury] knows what he’s got to do. He knows better than me, you, anybody,” Warren said. “He’s been in the ring with him. He’s seen the guy’s strengths and weaknesses.

“They’ve shared that ring. They’ve shared that unbelievable going to the well, giving everything.

They’ve both done that. They each know each other’s weaknesses and can they exploit them?

“Who’s going to have the wherewithal to do that and for me, my gut feeling about it and I like to think what I know about the sport, I think he will capitalize on it.

“I think Tyson’s got to use his physical attributes, which are his height, his jab and he’s got punch power, there’s no doubt about that, so he’s got to use those attributes.”

Warren believes Fury can take the result into his own hands and actually knock out Usyk.

“I thought he came close to doing that in the seventh round. He caught him a couple of times and wobbled him but certainly in that seventh round. I do believe that he has the wherewithal to do it,” the promoter said.

“I’ve seen Usyk hurt in his two previous fights, body shots and also Tyson with the uppercut. He can be hurt.”

Winning, especially in that manner, would make Fury “a world legend and certainly a British legend”.

“He’s a British legend anyway with what he’s done. He’s a phenomenal fighter,” Warren continued.

“He’s been in some tough, tough grueling fights and he’s shown what he’s all about as far as the ticker’s concerned. This fight will be the same, because Usyk’s not coming to make up the numbers, that’s for sure.

“Tyson knows what he’s got to do, it’s can he do it. I believe he can.”