Oleksandr Usyk would be “a lamb to the slaughter” if he fought Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua, according to ‘The Gypsy King’ himself.
Usyk recently outpointed Dereck Chisora in his biggest test yet since moving up to heavyweight from cruiserweight.
While few doubted that Usyk had prevailed, Fury was far from impressed. He believes the Ukrainian (now 18-0) would be found wanting against the best big men around.
“None of us are quaking. Is that it? Everyone’s like, ‘Is that what all the hype was about?’, Fury told Fight Night on talkSPORT.
“This is the heavyweight game and heavyweights ain’t like they were years ago, and Chisora’s probably the smallest heavyweight out there.
“Being brutally honest, I think when he fights a big heavyweight who can punch a bit, it’ll be like a lamb to slaughter.”
Tyson Fury: Was that the best Usyk?
There was much hype before the Usyk vs Chisora pay-per-view show. But while Usyk showed many of his unquestionable skills, he was hardly dominant. Leading Fury to ponder whether that was his best. And leaving the jury very much still out.
He asked: “Did we see the best Oleksandr Usyk? I’m not sure. Did we see the best Oleksandr Usyk at heavyweight? I don’t know.
“But on that performance I can say that none of the top 15 heavyweights out there are sweating Oleksandr Usyk at the moment, unfortunately.”
Next up for Usyk in theory is a shot at the WBO heavyweight title. That belt is currently held by Anthony Joshua, who defends against Kubrat Pulev on December 12.
Should AJ prevail then Usyk will push for a shot at Joshua, leaving the Briton with a tough decision. Defend against Usyk and push a unification match against Fury back. Or vacate the belt and fight Fury immediately, just not for the undisputed title.
Joshua has long held the goal of being undisputed heavyweight champion. So while a huge career payday against Fury would be nice, giving up a belt might be hard to do.
