Oleksandr Usyk has compared the styles of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, having respectively defeated both British heavyweights on two occasions.
First, the Ukrainian unanimously outpointed ‘AJ’ in 2021, becoming the unified world champion in just his third heavyweight outing.
At the time, Usyk was considered by many to be a slight underdog, as while he had become the undisputed cruiserweight king, it was difficult to ignore Joshua’s considerable 20lb size advantage.
Usyk ended up befuddling his opponent through large spells of their contest, though, and ultimately employed a similar strategy to win their immediate rematch by split decision.
The crafty southpaw then entered an undisputed clash with Fury in 2024, scoring a ninth-round knockdown before edging their fiercely-contested encounter by split decision.
He then controlled the majority of their rematch later that year, winning a unanimous decision to cement himself as the greatest heavyweight of this generation.
Based on his respective 24 rounds with both heavyweights, Usyk has told FightHype that he sees Fury as a more unorthodox package than Joshua.
“Anthony is more of a classic fighter, but greedy belly [Fury is like] a street fighter. Every round is [unpredictable].
“I started training for first Fury fight in December 2023. But, [even before camp started], I was [preparing for] fight with Tyson Fury.”
Joshua is now involved in Usyk’s camp as he gears up to face Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this Saturday.
Perhaps, then, the 36-year-old will have access to the data used against Fury in 2024, potentially giving him a slight edge ahead of their expected encounter later this year.
