Tyson Fury believes former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk is plenty big enough to defeat the goliath-sized Anthony Joshua this Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
Fury points out that the 6’3″ Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) is bigger than former heavyweight champions Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson, and Evander Holyfield.
In boxing, size is overrated, as it comes down to technical skills, heart, and of course, the chin to win in the sport.
Joshua has given away a lot of his size for this fight by choosing to trim off approximately 10 lbs of muscle weight, and he’s expected to come into the contest in the mid-230s region.
Usyk has bulked up to around 230, and he could pack more power than we’ve seen from him in his two previous fights at heavyweight against Chazz Witherspoon and Derek Chisora.
Fury says Usyk is not too small to win
“People say to me, ‘he’s too small,’ and this and that. But the guy [Usyk] is bigger than Muhammad Ali, he’s bigger than Mike Tyson, and he’s bigger than Holyfield,” said Tyson Fury to The Mirror.
“All those guys, big, same size, and the same weight. He’s definitely a good fighter. Joshua’s got a tough fight, you know,” he said. “Usyk is no mug,” said Fury.
We saw Joshua get knocked out by the non-puncher Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, which shows that he’s vulnerable against ANYBODY in the division.
Usyk can punch at least as hard as Ruiz with his left hand, and that makes him a serious threat to Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs).
Joshua will be defending his IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight titles against Usyk this Saturday night at the Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium in London.
Although Joshua has been installed as a heavy favorite to win, many bettors put their money on Usyk to win on Saturday.
Joshua has always been a shaky champion from day one, and his opposition has primarily been mediocre during his career. The only proper names on Joshua’s resume are Wladimir Klitschko and Dillian Whyte.
Fury wants Joshua to win
“Do I want him to win? Definitely,” said Fury about him openly pulling for Joshua to win.
“Because it doesn’t make much sense in me beating Usyk up. I’d much prefer to beat Joshua up. It’s a bigger fight, and people want to see it more.
“If Usyk does, then he will cost us a few quid, won’t he? Then again, we have lost plenty of money in the past, so it doesn’t really matter, does it? There’s plenty to go around.”
The money is much better for Fury if he faces Joshua than taking on Usyk. Against Joshua, Fury can make $80 million potentially, and in a fight with Usyk, Fury would be lucky to get a fifth of that total.