Tony Bellew has broken down a fantasy fight between heavyweight greats Oleksandr Usyk and Mike Tyson.
‘Iron Mike’ is a legend of the banner division who set a record that still stands when he became the youngest ever world heavyweight champion aged just 20. At that point, he had stopped his first 19 opponents, 12 of them before the end of the first round.
He retired in 2005 with a record of 50 wins out of 58 fights, 44 by KO, but returned last November for a meek points loss to Jake Paul, who was less than half his age.
Usyk appears to remain at his very best after yet another victory over a Brit in mid-July. This time it was Daniel Dubois he stopped inside five rounds to become a two-time heavyweight undisputed champion having already twice beaten Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. After that run, there is a debate ongoing as to where the Ukrainian ranks as an all-time great.
Speaking to Sporting Talk, Bellew explained why he thinks Usyk would beat Tyson.
“Mike Tyson in his prime is vicious and us but he does to Mike Tyson what he done to Murat Gassiev, I think he just stays away, he peppers you and stays away. He’s so smart, he knows how to tie people down and lock people up on the inside, he knows how to clinch and grip. He’s adapted and learnt all these strategies fight by fight.
“He learnt an awful lot in the Anthony Joshua fight, when he gets clipped a couple of times. We’ve seen him hurt by ‘AJ’, we’ve seen him hurt Tyson Fury and we’ve seen him ride out those moments with the amazing feet he has. He figures it out, he’s so fit and so agile he rides it out.”
What’s next for Usyk is unclear. He has been ordered to face WBO mandatory challenger, Joseph Parker, however may opt instead to vacate the belt and pursue another opponent.
