KEVIN LERENA has revealed Tyson Fury has asked him for southpaw sparring ahead of a proposed fight with Oleksandr Usyk next year.
Fury returns tonight in a trilogy bout against Derek Chisora, the man he compressively beat in 2011 and 2014, defending his WBC crown.
And in attendance will be WBA, IBF and WBO champion Usyk on a ringside scouting mission.
Also on the undercard is former cruiserweight Lerena, 30, in action against heavyweight contender Daniel Dubois, 24.
According to the South African himself, Fury, 34, has already eyed him for some lefty sparring rounds in preparation for Usyk, 35.
Lerena told Betfred: “Tyson asked me if I would help him with sparring for Usyk.
“He shared my post on social media and we got speaking and he asked me, ‘If I fight Usyk will you be prepared to help me?’
“And I said, ‘Most definitely, it would be my pleasure’. It would be great to learn from a guy like Tyson Fury.
“If Usyk doesn’t want to fight Tyson Fury and I beat Daniel Dubois, then it’s me against Tyson Fury. Let’s see.”
Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk revealed a deal is in place for the heavyweight division’s first four-belt unification.
Krassyuk said: “There is only one thing pending and that is Tyson’s fight. Everything else is in place and we are ready to go.
“It is very likely it is going to be Saudi but, if not, we have many options to market this fight.
“It is the biggest heavyweight fight of all time, probably, so it is not going to be very complicated to place it somewhere on the planet.”
