Heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet this Saturday on ESPN+ and DAZN PPV on May 18th at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was scheduled earlier this year for February 17th, but WBC champion Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) suffered a cut and needed time to heal.
(Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
According to Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, the extra time Oleksandr (21-0, 14 KOs) has had to prepare him for the fight has shaped him into a perfect “diamond,” and there will be “no hesitation” about what he’s going to do when he gets in the ring with Fury on Saturday night.
Some boxing fans believe Fury needed the extra time because he was not in good physical condition last February and in no way prepared to enter the ring and compete with the talented IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk.
If the fans are correct and Fury’s ‘injury’ was a strategy to buy time so he could pair off another 30-40 lbs, it could backfire on him because the three training camps and nine months of preparation Usyk has had for this fight has ready to do the business on Saturday.
Fury’s Reluctance: A Telltale Sign?
It might have been better for Fury to come into the fight with Usyk still chunky because he’s going to be dealing with a guy who is a bigger version of Vasily Lomachenko and will give him fits with his footwork and defense.
One can understand why Fury has been so reluctant to take this fight with Usyk because he’s all wrong for him in terms of his mobility and superior boxing skills. Fury has never fought anymore near the ability of Usyk during his long pro career, and he’s facing him at the wrong moment with him slowing down in his mid-30s.
For U.S. fans, the event is $69.99 and has some decent fights on the undercard. It starts at 2:00 p.m. ET on DAZN PPV and ESPN+ PPV.
Complete card:
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk
Jai Opetaia vs. Mairis Briedis
Joe Cordina vs. Anthony Cacace
Frank Sanchez vs. Agit Kabayel
Moses Itauma vs. Ilija Mezencev
Mark Chamberlain vs. Joshua Wahab
Sergey Kovalev vs. Robin Sirawn Safar
Daniel Lapin vs. Octavio Pudivtr
David Nyika vs. Michael Seitz
Isaac Lowe vs. Hasibullah Ahmadi
