Tyson Fury will beat Oleksandr Usyk “at his own pace” in their undisputed heavyweight title fight, says Frank Warren, warning against reading too much into the British fighter’s performance against Francis Ngannou last year.
Fury was defeated in the third round by former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in the Cameroonian’s professional boxing debut in October, before winning via a controversial split decision and remaining undefeated (34 wins and a draw against Deontay Wilder).
Fury’s co-promoter Warren expects him to beat Usyk and live on Sky Sports box office on Saturday, May 18, pointing out how he outlasted Wladimir Klitschko to become champion in 2015 and then beat the tough Wilder to take the WBC title five years later in the second part of their trilogy.
Warren told exclusively Sky Sports: “[Tyson] was cut [Ngannou] He fought, but he did what a champion does, which is get back into the fight. He has a good chin, recovers and won the fight.
“I wouldn’t dwell too much on this Ngannou fight. For Tyson, this is probably his worst performance as a champion, against Ngannou. If you look at all his other accomplishments, he has elevated his game.”
“Fury is very, very smart”
“When he fought Klitschko years ago, it was pure boxing. He went there and gave him a boxing lesson, in his adopted home in Germany.”
“You see, since the second fight with Wilder he has changed his style, he goes to the fore and throws shots.
“By the way, he throws a few punches, he had to get up from the ground a few times, but he’s changed his style quite a bit. He showed what a puncher he is.”
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“That ‘he’s not a big puncher’ thing. Look at how many breaks there are on his record. They will only be stopped when you can’t take it anymore. That’s what he does.”
“I think that’s what will happen with Usyk. He will defeat him with his skills. Because he’s very, very smart.”
Fury and Usyk were scheduled to meet in February, but Fury suffered a cut above his right eye in sparring and postponed the fight until May.
Warren: Fury is in wonderful condition
The winner will be the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and the first in the four-belt era, and Warren believes his man will go into the fight in the best physical condition he has ever been .
The Queensberry Promotions founder added: “It was unfortunate that he got a cut on his eye.” [that forced the Usyk fight to be postponed] Because all you had to do was look at him and he was torn. He said himself that it was the hardest he had ever worked.
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Fury says he won’t change as a person if he becomes undisputed champion
“But he works hard all the time. And he doesn’t just train for fights, he trains every day. He does what he didn’t do before when he was walking around, probably more than he does now.”
“He continues to work hard but he’s going to be super fit for this fight and I’ll tell you why – because even if he was overweight he didn’t need to lose it because he was so fit from training before.” He was cut.
“He looks in great shape. As far as his physical condition goes, I think he’ll be in the best shape he’s ever been in.”
How to book Fury vs Usyk at the Sky Sports box office
It is one of the biggest sporting events in a generation. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk collide for the undisputed world heavyweight championship on Saturday May 18th, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book the fight now.