WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) is playing down his size advantage over WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) ahead of their undisputed title clash at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18.
Listed as six-foot-nine tall, the 35-year-old Brit weighed in at almost 278-pounds for his last bout against Francis Ngannou in October.
By contrast, 37-year-old Ukrainian southpaw Usyk is six-foot-three and has never weighed in at more than 222-pounds since moving up from cruiserweight, where he unified all four major world title belts.
Usyk might be lightly raced, but he has faced some top quality names since cleaning out the 200-pound division. In his last three bouts dating back to 2021 he has defeated former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 28-3 (25) twice on points and stopped contender Daniel Dubois 20-2 (19) in the ninth.
Fury has previously called Usyk a blown-up middleweight, the division he campaigned in as an amateur. But as the fight fast approaches he has changed his tune, eager to impress the Usyk present a genuine challenge to him with his sublime mix of mobility and accuracy.
“It won’t come down to, ‘he’s bigger than me or he’s smaller than me’,” Fury told Queensberry Promotions. “I think it will come down to who wants it most on the night. If he wants it more than me, he will win and if I want it more than him, I’ll win, but either way I think we’re in for a real treat.
“He’s proved he can mix it with the big heavyweights, he’s beat Joshua and Dubois – they’re pretty big heavyweights. I’m messing with an elite fighter who’s got more than boxing ability, he’s stubborn and wants to win like I do. We both have talent, we both have good attributes and bad attributes, it will come down to who wants it most on the night.”
Fury is coming off a lacklustre showing against former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou 0-2, who was having his pro debut when they met in Saudi Arabia last year. Fury looked out of shape when they entered the ring, with 37-year-old Cameroonian Ngannou decking him in the third round with a big left hook.
Fury won the 10-round non-title bout via split decision, but it was an unconvincing victory. He is promising a much better performance against Usyk, who he has likened to Hall of Famer Evander ‘The Real Deal’ Holyfield.
“Usyk is a bad man,” Fury continued. “He’s a real bad man and any underestimation of Oleksandr Usyk – you’d be a mug.
“I’m training hard for him, I’m doing everything I can, I respect Usyk as a man. I respect his career as well, he’s been Olympic champion, he’s had 350 amateur fights or something, and he’s been an undisputed cruiserweight champion, and he’s a unified heavyweight champion. So, you have to respect that.
“I’m not fighting a guy that’s had 14 and won 11, I’m fighting the real deal, as real a deal as Holyfield. I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
