Published 17:05 IST, November 10th 2020
Tyson Fury warns Oleksandr Usyk, says he’ll be ‘slaughtered’ against him or Anthony Joshua
Tyson Fury praised Oleksandr Usyk for his last performance, but claimed that the top 15 heavyweights would not be “sweating about Usyk at the moment”.
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Former cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk made his heavyweight debut in October where he defeated Dereck Chisora via unanimous decision. Now, Usyk has his eyes set on unified world champion Anthony Joshua, who’s scheduled to face fellow heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, in 2021 after the Kubrat Pulev fight in December. However, The Gypsy King - who will also defend his title against Agit Kabayel next month - is of the opinion that Usyk has not shown enough to be considered a threat in the top division.
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While speaking to talkSPORT, Tyson Fury praised Oleksandr Usyk for his last performance but claimed that the top 15 heavyweights would not be “sweating about Usyk at the moment”. Tyson Fury stated that heavyweight division is completely different than the cruiserweight division, which Oleksandr Usyk ruled a few months ago. He claimed Oleksandr was able to come out victorious against Dereck Chisora because Chisora is the smallest heavyweight in the division.
“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 added.
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This is the second time Tyson Fury has taken a shot at Oleksandr Usyk, previously claiming he could beat the Ukrainian with one arm tied behind his back. However, The Gypsy King rated Usyk high on the power scale, stating that the former cruiserweight champ could defeat his arch-rival, Deontay Wilder. Tyson Fury took the WBC heavyweight title from Deontay Wilder in February by defeating him in their second bout via technical knockout.
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Usyk could jeopardise the highly-anticipated Fury vs Joshua fight
By defeating Dereck Chisora, Oleksandr Usyk became the next mandatory challenger for the WBO title. Meaning, after the Pulev vs Joshua bout, Oleksandr Usyk could challenge AJ for a title fight. If this happens, Anthony Joshua could either defend his WBO title against Usyk or vacate it to fight Tyson Fury. Though Joshua would hate to be in the situation, according to Eddie Hearn, the champ would most probably vacate his title.
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“Will he vacate a belt and fight Tyson Fury next? Yes, I believe he would if he had to, but would he rather maintain all the belts? One million per cent,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
Image Source: AP, Oleksandr Usyk Instagram
17:05 IST, November 10th 2020