International Boxing Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu has weighed in on the upcoming fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) will put his hardware on the line against WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 17.
Former undisputed junior welterweight champion Tszyu, who retired in 2005 with a record of 31-2 (25), was unimpressed by Fury’s last outing when he struggled against boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou 0-1 in Saudi Arabia last month.
In that bout Brtiain’s Fury, 35, had to climb off the canvas in the third to eke out a split decision victory in the 10-round non-title bout.
“Probably Tyson lost his respect for boxing for a little while,” Tszyu said to Fight Hub TV. “He thought he could do it easy. He never trained the way he was supposed to, He thought it was easy. I’m sure he will learn his lesson and that will help him.”
Pressed for a winner, Tszyu didn’t hesitate.
“Usyk,” he said. “If he’s not prepared, it’s not going to be easy to fight Usyk. Usyk’s great, I love him. Usyk did a great job in his last few fights, fighting big fellas and not getting hit, that’s important.
“If Fury prepares like he did for his last fight he will lose. He has to learn this.”
Usyk had his own critics in his last bout against Daniel Dubois 19-2 (18) in August after going down from a body shot that was deemed low by referee Luis Pabon. Some fans felt the blow was legal and said it was a sign that the former undisputed cruiserweight champion cannot take blows to the body. Usyk would go on to win by ninth-round knockout.
Tszyu is not alone in tipping the undefeated 36-year-old Ukrainian southpaw to come away victorious. Rising heavyweight prospect Fabio Wardley 17-0 (16) has sparred both Fury and Usyk and is better placed than most to give his opinion on how the fight will play out.
“Them as opponents compared to who they had those fights against are very different, but there’s still obvious parts there in terms of where both could maybe slip up or not come with their A-game,” Wardley said to The Sun.
“I think for each of them, when you know that the fight means a lot more, when you know the opponent is of a different grade, it makes you train different, it makes you work for it differently, especially coming off both of those performances as well, both have something to prove.
“In terms of who wins, I’ve always edged towards Usyk, I always have. It’s probably an interesting one for people but I always have, that doesn’t mean that I don’t think Fury can win because I wholeheartedly do. I just think that somehow, someway, it’s very hard to bet against Usyk, he always seems to just be crafty enough and do whatever needs to be done to beat the opponent in front of him.”
