With the long-awaited fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk inching ever closer, Fury has stated how size will play a huge factor in the May 18 fight. Speaking today at a presser, Fury stated how rival heavyweight champ Usyk “cannot beat the elite big ones,” and this will be proven in Saudi Arabia when the four-belt unification clash finally takes place.
Fury said today that cruiserweights “are usually found wanting” when they make the move up to the heavyweight division. Usyk of course holds those two big wins over Anthony Joshua, and he is as we know the holder of three heavyweight world titles. But none of this cuts any ice with Fury, who is adamant he is too big and too good for the Ukrainian southpaw.
“It’s not personal. It’s strictly business for both fighters. There’s a lot of stuff on the line, but I don’t hate him,” Fury said of Usyk. “I respect him as a man, as a fighter. Anyone would have to respect the man’s achievements. He’s unified heavyweight champion, undisputed cruiserweight champion. [But] I’m the best. I’m just defending my ‘best-ness’ against him. We have weight divisions for a reason. When the cruiserweights step up to the big boys, they have usually been found wanting. You can beat the average big ones, but you can’t beat the elite big ones, because size really matters. These are facts.”
Usyk will be giving away plenty of height and weight against Fury, but we have seen the great ones make the move up and defeat a bigger, taller man – Michael Spinks did it against Larry Holmes, Roy Jones did it against John Ruiz, and David Haye did it against Nikolay Valuev. Is Usyk one of the real greats? Of course, Fury is no Spinks, no ageing Holmes, no Valuev, and as such, Usyk does have the challenge of his career facing him.
But could it be that Fury is banking a little too much on size and weight helping him to victory? Might Usyk, at around 220 pounds, be too nimble, too fast with his punches, and too hard to hit cleanly on the night? Fury is obviously a firm believer in the old adage, ‘a good big man beats a good little man.’ But again, is Usyk a truly great ‘little man?’
Let’s all hope the fight goes ahead this time, with no issues at all. This fight really is a fascinating one.
