Retired star Andre Ward believes Tyson Fury will use his significant size advantages to beat Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury has confirmed he will come out of retirement to face Usyk in a fight to crown the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. The fight is expected to take place in February with Saudi Arabia leading the race to play host.
Usyk earned his second consecutive victory over Anthony Joshua by split decision earlier this month with the Brit unable to impose his dominance in either fight. However former world champion Ward believes Fury's potential clash with Usyk could be intriguing due to their superior skillsets at heavyweight.
"I believe this will be the case in this situation,” Ward told Max Kellerman when asked if he he thinks Fury will beat Usyk. "You can’t write Usyk off by any stretch of the imagination, but Tyson Fury is not Anthony Joshua. Tyson Fury has an amateur pedigree. Tyson Fury is big and has got a range, and he knows how to use it. He’s not conflicted about his style. He’s not conflicted about the type of fighter he is. “He knows he can box, but he’s also got that dog in him.
"We’ve seen him get off the canvas against a puncher like Deontay Wilder and get hit with some massive shots that take most men out. “He found a way to get up, bite down on his gumshield and stick to the game plan and go get the win. I don’t think there will be any difference in this fight with Usyk, but it’s intriguing because of the skillset of both guys, the size differential between Usyk and Tyson Fury. Both guys want the fight."
Fury immediately responded to Usyk's second win over Joshua by claiming he could beat both men and confirming he will enter negotiations for the fight. Talks are understood to have taken place before the second meeting between Usyk and Joshua, with the original plan to stage the fight on the weekend of football's prestigious World Cup final in December.
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However fresh reports yesterday indicated that the fight could now land in February with three Middle Eastern countries in the running to stage the clash including Saudi Arabia. Despite Ward suggesting the fight would be a great spectacle for fans, Eddie Hearn believes the fight could be less entertaining than expected.
“I would favour Oleksandr Usyk in that fight,” said Hearn when speaking on The DAZN Boxing Show. “I just think he’s so good. They’re both very intelligent fighters. It’s actually not a very good fight to watch but it’s an intriguing fight to watch. Tyson Fury doesn’t want to fight Usyk, but he may have to because the money is so big.”
