Tony Bellew has experienced the brilliance of Oleksandr Usyk first hand, so there are few boxers better placed to talk about the Ukrainian’s blockbusting heavyweight showdown with Tyson Fury on May 18.
Less than three months now we should have a first undisputed heavyweight king since Lennox Lewis back in 1999 when the two best big men on the planet finally get it on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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It should be a classic confrontation between to brilliantly skilful fighters who are very different in size. Fury (34-0-1) will likely outweigh Usyk by more than 50lbs when they meet in centre ring.
Usyk of course was ‘just’ a cruiserweight when he faced Bellew in November 2018. It was one of a string of major ‘road fights’ for the former Olympic champion – he feared nobody and would go into anybody’s backyard to face them. Elite cojones from a man who relished having his back to the wall.
That night in Manchester, Usyk withstood everything ‘Bomber’ could throw at him in the early stages, before dismantling the Liverpudlian bit by bit. It was an absolute masterclass right up to the point Oleksandr closed the show in Round 8 with a left hook to top off yet another precision attack.
Since then Usyk has moved up to heavyweight to claim the IBF, WBA, WBO and Ring magazine titles with some terrific performances – topped off by a pair of wins over Anthony Joshua.
Bellew on Fury vs Usyk
Now the brilliant 37-year-old (21-0) faces his biggest test yet, against the behemoth that is Fury. According to Bellew, it’s a mountain he absolutely can climb once again.
He told Matchroom Boxing: “I don’t think anyone beats Usyk. And that includes Fury.
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“His style changed and now he’s an aggressive counter puncher, so he presses you to get you to punch – it ain’t going to work against Usyk.
“The only chance he has is a puncher’s chance and he’s not the biggest puncher if I’m being totally honest. I still think he’s a brilliant fighter. But I just think Usyk’s the best heavyweight in the world.”
