The emotional reason why Oleksandr Usyk carries Eeyore toy with him to fights revealed ahead of Tyson Fury bout

Oleksandr Usyk will take on Tyson Fury next weekend in a bid to be crowned the undisputed heavyweight champions of the world.

Usyk, 37, will put his WBA (super), IBF and WBO world titles on the line against 35-year-old Fury, who will be aiming to defend his WBC title in Saudi Arabia.

Fury currently boasts 34 wins and one draw out of his 35 professional fights, 24 of the victories coming by knockout and 10 by decision.

Usyk meanwhile has won all 21 of his professional fights, 14 of which have been via a knockout and seven by decision, so there is the prospect of one undefeated record ending.

The fighters will meet in Riyadh on May 18 with the potential of the first undisputed world champion being crowned in nearly 25 years, after Lennox Lewis last held all the heavyweight belts back in 2000.

One thing that viewers might notice when Usyk completes his walk to the ring is that he carries a cuddly toy of Winnie the Pooh character Eeyore with him to fights.

He first carried it back in 2022 when Usyk had a rematch against Anthony Joshua and the Ukrainian beat the English fighter for the second time.

And at the time, he revealed the emotional reason why he carries the toy - it is a present from his daughter, Elizabeth.

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He said: "It’s my daughter’s. She gave it to me to be my talisman.

"We bought it when we were all together in Disneyland, Paris. When we left Ukraine together, our roads separated in Europe.

"My daughter gave this toy to me and said ‘this needs to be right next to you’. It sleeps with me, is always close to me."

And Usyk has been spotted holding the toy as he travels to Saudi Arabia ahead of the big fight next weekend, after posting a picture of himself to his Instagram account.

Time will tell if the toy brings Usyk luck against Fury, when the eyes of the boxing world will be on what happens in the ring in Saudi Arabia and history could well be made.