The 36-year-old came under fire for the number of voices in his corner during the defeat to Usyk in Saudi Arabia back in May

Oleksandr Usyk lands a punch on Tyson Fury (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Tyson Fury has hit back at criticism surrounding the number of voices coming from his corner in his loss to heavyweight boxing rival Oleksandr Usyk.

The 36-year-old suffered defeat for the first time in his professional career in Saudi Arabia back in May with Ukrainian star Usyk claiming a split decision victory after 12 rounds to capture the undisputed heavyweight championship. Usyk has since vacated the IBF title which is now held by Daniel Dubois following his five round blowout of Anthony Joshua in September, but Fury will hope to win the three remaining major belts when he faces Usyk for a second time in the Middle East on December 21.

The Gyspy King came under fire for his choice of corner team in the first fight, with his father John Fury also lending a voice on top of his two coaches Andy Lee and SugarHill Steward. Boxing fans and pundits alike described the situation in the corner on May 18 as chaotic, with many pointing to the old adage that ‘too many cooks spoils the broth’.

But in a face off with Usyk and boxing writer and commentator Steve Bunce for TNT Sport ahead of the mega rematch, Fury insists any outside talk about his set-up on the night is meaningless to him. It remains to be seen if the two-time world champion will change his corner team when he looks to get his revenge on Usyk.

Fury said: “Listen, people can have opinions and what they want to say but at the end of the day they’re not in there doing the fighting. It’s really unimportant what other people think of what was going on in my corner. If I’m happy then the world’s happy, and I’m happy.”