The boxing world is looking forward to the heavyweight show of the century. The Briton Fury and the Ukrainian Usyk want to become “Undisputed Champion”. Even a German can make a big impression in the evening.
The first gong in the fight of the century between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk has not yet sounded, but blood has already been shed. However, not with the two heavyweight world champions, but with the eccentric father of the Briton Fury. At the beginning of the week he suffered a bloody wound on his forehead when he hit a member of Usyk’s team, causing a scandal.
The nerves before the eagerly awaited World Cup unification fight seem to be on edge. “His father is nervous. He’s trying to fight the smallest guy on Usyk’s team,” complained Usyk’s promoter Alexander Krassyuk.
There is a lot at stake at the heavyweight show on Saturday evening (DAZN) in Riyadh. For the first time since Lennox Lewis 25 years ago, the winner of the mega fight can become the so-called “Undisputed Champion”. He secured all four major world titles from the IBF, WBO, WBA and WBC associations – and thus a highly respected place in boxing history. In addition, it’s also about the IBO title. “It’s great. It’s good for me, but also very important for my country,” said Usyk, who wants to dedicate his victory to the Ukrainian soldiers fighting against Russia.
“This is a fight that the boxing world has been waiting for for a quarter of a century. The whole world is watching it, this is boxing history,” said expert Bernd Bönte of the German Press Agency. Promoter Frank Warren spoke some time ago of the “biggest boxing event of the century”.
“It will definitely be a spectacle,” said Agit Kabayel. The currently best German heavyweight will get into the ring in the preliminary program before the mega duel. In the so-called WBC World Championship Eliminator, the 31-year-old takes on the Cuban Frank Sanchez. If the Bochum native wins, he will be the next mandatory challenger to the WBC heavyweight world champion. That is currently Tyson Fury, Usyk holds the other titles.
Kabayel: “This is the Champions League”
Kabayel expects an even fight. “If we go by recent performances, the cards are not that good for Fury. But I still believe that it will be a head-to-head race, the form of the day and the mental strength will decide,” he said: “That “It’s the Champions League, where everyone is really dangerous and ready for a spectacle.”
Both boxing stars are still undefeated. The nimble Usyk (21 wins) is likely to want to cause problems for the 15 centimeter taller Fury (34 wins), especially with his speed. “Fury has never had to deal with such speed,” said Usyk promoter Krassyuk to the “sport.de” portal. “Tyson has advantages in size, reach and weight. Period. Usyk has advantages in speed, boxing IQ and technique,” Krassyuk added.
Bönte also sees advantages for the Ukrainian here. “Usyk’s big plus is his speed – both the quickness of his hands and his excellent footwork. And he boxes very precisely,” he said.
In general, the former manager of the Klitschko brothers expects a “50/50 fight”. “Both are facing the toughest fight of their careers. If I were to bet, I see Usyk as the slight favorite. I’m betting on Usyk winning by a narrow point.”
Bönte: Fury has to break Usyk’s rhythm
It is extremely difficult to take on a small and fast man like Usyk for a big man like Fury, says Bönte, who will accompany the fight as an expert for DAZN. “Fury will only win this fight if he can break Usyk’s rhythm. He has to stop him, cut him off, cling, sometimes box uncleanly and break the flow of the fight in every way,” predicted Bönte. “Usyk wins a boxing match, Fury wins a ‘dirty street fight’.”
Usyk took his world title from Anthony Joshua in 2021 and successfully defended it against the Brit in 2022. The fight against Fury was already longed for. In 2015, Fury surprisingly defeated Wladimir Klitschko and became world champion. He later gave up all titles and battled depression and drug use. In 2018 he was back – and grabbed the WBC title.
Organization of the fight was tough
As befits such a big fight, scheduling the event was a tough struggle. Disagreements over the monetary allocation almost led to the negotiations being broken off. According to several media reports, Fury will receive more than 100 million for the fight, while Usyk will receive less.
“Each side has concluded a separate deal with the local organizer and investor Turki AlalSheikh,” said Bönte. “Neither side knows how much money the other gets. Both are therefore satisfied. And that’s the only reason the fight came about.”
But it wasn’t just money that delayed the duel. Both were scheduled to compete against each other on December 23rd. However, Fury, who appeared untrained at the time, received a cut in an exhibition fight against former MMA champion Francis Ngannou a few weeks earlier – and then had to take a break. A short time later, Fury suffered another cut while sparring in preparation for the February fight against Usyk. And again the spectacle had to be postponed. Now nothing should stand in the way of the fight of the century.