With Oleksandr Usyk now considered to be the standout heavyweight of this generation, his biggest rival, Tyson Fury, has predicted whether he would have been able to overcome fan-favourite icon of the division, Mike Tyson.
Usyk became the undisputed cruiserweight world champion with a tremendous trifecta of world title wins on away soil against Krzysztof Glowacki, Mairis Briedis and Murat Gassiev, before moving up to the heavyweight division.
After just two fights at the weight, Usyk then dethroned Anthony Joshua in his backyard to claim the unified heavyweight titles in 2021. Then, following three years as a three-belt champion, he trumped Tyson Fury to become the first undisputed heavyweight ruler since 1999.
Another victory over ‘The Gypsy King’ cemented his superiority over the Briton and led to the retirement of Fury, but he has since announced his return to the sport and revealed hopes to face the Ukrainian for a third time.
Reflecting on his fights with the now 39-year-old, Fury admitted that a fight between Usyk and ‘Iron Mike’ is a tough one to call, but he gave the edge to the hard-hitting American, in an interview with The Daily Mail.
“That is a tough one, both in their prime? I’m going to go with my boy, Mike [Tyson].”
A prime-for-prime battle between the two heavyweights would be a collision of extremes: raw, concussive aggression meeting footwork and ring IQ. Fans will debate whether or not Usyk could overcome Tyson’s early onslaught, having never faced a man of a similar size with that blend of power and speed. The Ukrainian, however, rarely looks troubled inside the ropes, and has met fight-ending power head on before.
Fury is set to make his ring return against Arslanbek Makhmudov on Saturday, April 11, whilst Usyk is controversially defending the WBC heavyweight title against Rico Verhoeven, who has just one professional boxing bout to his name.
It remains to be seen whether the WBA and IBF will take action against Usyk and strip him of their belts.
