Fight Talk: Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, Oscar de la Hoya, Oleksandr Usyk

In this week's Fight Talk we look at British heavyweights Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury's back-and-forth Twitter spat, Oscar de la Hoya, 47, talks about a potential comeback and a dancing Oleksandr Usyk entertains us with his training methods.

Whyte and Fury go at it

Heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte is set to take on Russian Alexander Povetkin at promoter Eddie Hearn's 'Fight Camp' on 22 August.

But this past week Whyte was involved in a Twitter spat with fellow Briton and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.

Whyte has been the mandatory challenger for the WBC strap for nearly 1,000 days. And his frustrations at not getting that world title shot intensified after Fury told IFL TV that American Deontay Wilder - who Fury stopped in February - would easily beat both Whyte and IBF, WBA and WBO champion Anthony Joshua.

Fury also predicted the same outcome if and when he fights Whyte, saying he would "annihilate" the Londoner…

Well, unsurprisingly, that didn't go down well with Whyte.

"Trust me, I have shared a ring with him before and there wasn't any annihilating. I can say that for sure," he told the 5 Live Boxing Podcast.

The two big men also went back and forth over social media.

Whyte labelled Fury a "coward" and claimed that he knocked the 'Gypsy King' down in sparring on several occasions. Fury mocked Whyte for losing to Anthony Joshua and now fighting 40-year-old Povetkin.

Here are some of the highlights of the Fury-Whyte Twitter beef…

Whyte then told IFL TV that he would "100% knockout" Fury.

However, beating Povetkin - a two-time world title challenger and Olympic gold medallist - is not a given for Whyte. And Fury, meanwhile, has to overcome Wilder in their scheduled trilogy fight and has also 'agreed' a two-fight deal with Joshua for 2021.

Promoter Hearn, however, has said he has "no problem" if Whyte gets a world title shot before a potential Joshua-Fury fight next summer.

While there is no guarantee Whyte and Fury will ever get it on, the animosity is bubbling away nicely and you can be sure that the build up to this fight will be immense.

De la Hoya 'considering' comeback at 47

From Mike Tyson to Evander Holyfield, during the coronavirus pandemic and global lockdown many past greats have announced their planned comebacks to boxing.

And you can maybe add another one to that list as former six-weight world champion, now promoter, Oscar de la Hoya says he is "considering" returning to the ring aged 47.

But unlike Tyson, De la Hoya isn't interested in an exhibition bout and wants to fight "the best out there" in or around the middleweight division.

"I have been working out, I have been training, I have been staying in shape," De la Hoya told The Ring.

But first he wants to see how 54-year-old Tyson's comeback unfolds, saying: "I want to see how he performs, see how his reflexes are, see if he can go past three or four rounds. We'll see and then I'll make my decision."

De la Hoya is a legend in the sport. But it's fair to say that most boxing fans would prefer to see him stay retired…

Usyk for Strictly?

And finally, Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk is preparing for his rescheduled bout against British heavyweight Dereck Chisora.

The date has not yet been confirmed. But that hasn't stopped Usyk from once again entertaining us with his unusual training methods...

Those of you familiar with Usyk will know he loves a boogie. There was this from last year...

And we'll leave you with this gem from when he won heavyweight gold at the 2012 Olympics...