Almost anything is possible in the undisputed heavyweight world championship clash between WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) and WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
Oddsmakers can barely split the 35-year-old Brit and the 37-year-old Ukrainian southpaw and opinions of fans and pundits are similarly split.
Count retired cruiserweight world champion David Haye amongst those struggling to tip a definitive winner.
“My prediction, I think, is going to be a very highly skilled, technical fight,” Haye told Mail Sport. “I think both fighters are going to have a great game plan. I think Tyson Fury is going to try to implement his superior height, weight and reach. I think it’s going to be very exciting.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of controversy. I think it’s going to go to points. I think I see a controversial majority draw. I think two judges are going to have it as a draw and one judge is going to have it for Usyk. I think Usyk is going to, in my opinion, win the fight, but I think it’s going to be a draw.
“But with someone as big as Tyson Fury, it takes one shot to really do damage. He’s not known to have one-punch knockout power but when you’re that big and you’re rotating through the shots, particularly if he gets desperate at some stage, you know he could either get countered or he could land a big shot. But I’m excited.”
Haye hastened to add he wants to see a clear-cut winner in the fight.
“Nobody wants a draw!” he said. “We want a clear, considered victory. But if I was to bet my last £5, it would be on a draw. You’d get great odds. But I think a majority draw.”
If Fury does win, he will still need to do more in Haye’s eyes to become the best big man on the planet. He will have to play ball with Anthony Joshua.
“He becomes the undisputed champion. Does he become the baddest man on the planet? I thought AJ [Anthony Joshua] beating [Francis] Ngannou the way he did makes him the baddest man on the planet,” Haye said.
“Although he doesn’t have any belts, I’d like then to see the undisputed champion fight Ngannou, who was the baddest man, who then I believe defended that title against Tyson Fury – but had it ripped off of him by AJ.
“So I then want AJ to fight Tyson Fury for the mythical baddest man on the planet and the undisputed titles. That’s when I can sit back and say this guy [the winner] in this era is the number one.”
