Tyson Fury vs Usyk: Heavyweight Title Clash

• Boxers fight for heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia on 18 May

• Cruiserweights are usually found wanting when they step up.

TFD – Brace yourself for the ultimate battle as Tyson Fury takes on Oleksandr Usyk in a clash of heavyweight titans. Explore the anticipation, strategy, and stakes at TheFoxDaily.

“Cruiserweights are usually found wanting when they step up.”

Before his huge matchup with Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury declared that this is “my time, my destiny, my era and my generation.”

On May 18, in Saudi Arabia, WBC champion Tyson Fury will take on Usyk, the WBA, IBF, and WBO champion from Ukraine in what is expected to be the first undisputed world heavyweight contest of the century.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Fury stated of his opponent—the former unified cruiserweight champion who made his heavyweight debut in 2019—that “it’s not personal, it’s strictly business for both fighters.” Many things are at stake, but neither he nor I have animosity toward the other.

“As a fighter and a man, I admire him.” Respect for the man and his accomplishments is a must. Good combatant, I face a difficult task ahead of me. But I’m very confident in my ability and I’m very confident I’ll beat the guy.

Usually, the cruiserweights are found wanting when they try to compete with the big giants. Because size matters so much, you can defeat the ordinary big ones but not the elite huge ones. When he battles me on May 18, he will be found wanting because that is why we have weight divisions. This is my time, my destiny, my era and my generation. Truth.

Fury, who called himself an “encyclopaedia on boxing”, referred to a number of examples of cruiserweights stepping up, including Evander Holyfield, who lost an undisputed heavyweight clash with Lennox Lewis in 1999.

This fight was originally slated to take place on February 17th, but it was postponed 15 days earlier after Fury injured himself above his right eye during a sparring match. The 35-year-old stated, “Like everything in life, I realized God’s timing is immaculate, perfect after being a little depressed for the first day or two. It is just on time; it is neither early nor late. On May 18, it will be my turn to fight; it wasn’t my time to do it then.

“I’m in excellent health. With a strong team surrounding me and an amazing training camp, everything is going according to plan. I’m working extremely hard, and this time, my dad [John Fury] is with me, so I have my secret weapon. We’re really at capacity because our circus camp is packed.

Usyk has defeated Anthony Joshua via unanimous decision and split decision after defeating Chisora. He has also defeated Daniel Dubois via ninth-round knockout.

Wednesday’s press conference at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium in Morecambe, near where Fury lives, saw his father, trainer SugarHill Steward, promoter Frank Warren and manager Spencer Brown all predict a knockout victory for the Briton over his fellow unbeaten fighter Usyk. Fury himself then joked: “I’m going to go for Usyk to knock me out in the first round – I’m going to go for it, why not?”

In 2015, Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) defeated fellow countryman Wladimir Klitschko to earn the title of world champion. He added: “I said if I can’t beat old Wlad, I must be useless, and I’ll say it again – if I can’t beat Usyk, I’m no good clearly. That’s your headline. If Tyson Fury can’t beat Usyk, Tyson’s no good, end of. But if I beat him, I beat another man, great, fantastic – on to the next one.”