Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are set to once again get up close and personal when they battle it out for heavyweight supremacy later this year.
These are two of the best of their current generation having cleared up all the belts between them in the last few years. After a long wait, the undisputed title fight finally played out in May and saw Usyk win a points decision after a close 12 rounds.
He added Fury’s WBC, Lineal and Ring Magazine titles to the WBA, WBO and IBF belts he had already won from Anthony Joshua in back-to-back victories in 2021 and 2022.
Both men have said they made mistakes in their first contest and that they will be better when the 13th round begins in December 21 in Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to Seconds Out before the first clash, he was asked what was Fury’s best asset and went with his size – but warned he would use it against him.
“His biggest asset is that he is very big. But in different circumstances, it could not be an asset as I use everything against him.”
He was then asked about Fury’s heart having been put down but never knocked out in his career to date.
“Fury is a great fighter, just because even if he falls, he always stands and that makes him one of the champions.”
It is no surprise Usyk picked Fury’s size as his best attribute given that he is the naturally smaller man. The Ukrainian came up from cruiserweight where he was just as dominant and also achieve undisputed status, and has now said he may return to that division following the second fight with Fury.
