Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will both enter the ring heavyweight champions this weekend in Riyadh. Presuming they don’t fight to a draw, only one will leave undisputed.
A heavyweight showdown of its kind has been 25 years in the making, and both men have gone to great lengths to gather the belts.
Fury was previously just one title away from collecting all four in 2015 when he dethroned long-reigning Wladimir Klitschko. Following a mental health and addiction crisis, he returned to the ring to hand Deontay Wilder his first loss and become champion again.
Neither man stacks up to Usyk in ‘The Gypsy King’s opinion. He told Box Nation that he has been ‘very impressed’ by the Ukrainian.
“I’m putting Usyk as the best man I’ve ever fought. Better than Wladimir Klitschko, better than Deontay Wilder, better than them all. Two-time, two-weight world champion and an Olympic gold medallist. I’ve been very impressed with all the stuff he’s done. He boxed the head off Anthony Joshua who was supposed to be a killer. He’s done a good job with all the people he’s fought.”
It’s a far cry from Fury’s previous assessment of Usyk. He has labelled him irrelevant and nothing more than a blown-up middleweight, and previously predicted the fight would be over within six.
The bookmakers have it much closer, with the Brit only a slight favourite.
