Former heavyweight champ Shannon Briggs says we may have to “get ready” for a fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Deontay Wilder – for the undisputed heavyweight championship. Speaking with Sky Sports, Briggs said we can in no way afford to write off either Usyk against Anthony Joshua or Wilder in his third fight with Tyson Fury.
Briggs points to Wilder’s “freak of nature” punching power, and to Usyk’s incredible boxing skills, with Briggs calling the former undisputed cruiserweight champion a “king-sized Vasiliy Lomachenko.” Briggs feels both challengers have an excellent chance to get the win over the two respective champions.
“Don’t sleep on Wilder,” Briggs said. “Throughout the history of the boxing world, he is a freak of nature. He could crack anybody and knock them out with his power. We don’t know what he will come with in this fight.
He might shock the world. Fury might have the wrong idea. If this guy knocks out Fury, then what? It is possible. Will there be a fourth fight? Fury can’t sleep on Wilder. With those skinny legs he shouldn’t hot that hard. But he hits sickly hard. It isn’t normal to hit that hard. But he can’t fight backing up.”
It would be a huge shock if Wilder did manage to KO Fury in July in their third fight, but as Briggs says, that withering power can never be underestimated any more than it can be written off. But what are the odds of both Fury AND Joshua losing their next fights?
“The fight to get ready for is Usyk Vs. Wilder,” Briggs said. “We might have to get ready for that. Tough, tough, tough fight (for Joshua). A guy like that? Who can work like that? He is a king-sized Vasiliy Lomachenko.
As the rounds go on, he gets stronger. The best chance for AJ is to catch him early. AJ is strong early, Usyk is strong late. This is AJ’s toughest fight – equally as tough as AJ Vs. Fury. If the ring is big, he [Usyk] will be hard to catch.”
The Joshua-Usyk fight is not yet official, yet it is the most likely next fight for AJ. If Briggs is right, both Fury and Joshua have a tough fight on their hands this summer.
Again, what odds both Fury and Joshua losing? How shocked would you be if that happened? We would certainly have to say a permanent goodbye to a Fury-Joshua fight if the two suffered an upset next time out.
