Oleksandr Usyk expects a better version of Tyson Fury: “It will be different than with Ngannou”
El Ukrainian and British fighters will fight in the first heavyweight title unification bout ever on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
The countdown has begun. Tyson Fury (34-0-0, 24 KO) and Oleksandr Usyk (21-0-0, 14 KO) will put their names in the history books. They will feature in the first-ever unification title fight in the heavyweight division since the four-belt era (WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO). The Ukrainian expects a better version of The Gipsy King than the one he showed in his last fight.
Francis Ngannou made his boxing debut when he faced Fury. The former UFC heavyweight champion surprised everyone with his performance against Fury, as the WBC king went to the canvas in the second round after the Cameroonian-French star landed a left hook. The British fighter was criticized after the fight and many said Ngannou was robbed and that Fury didn’t take the former UFC fighter seriously.
Usyk was sitting in the front row before the unification fight was announced and stated that Fury looked like he was faking his performance. That could be one of the reasons why the undefeated Fury was floored, as some months later Anthony Joshua (28-3-0, 25 KO) knocked Ngannou out in the first round.
Usyk believes a better Fury will show up in May
The Ukrainian expects an improved version of Fury in their upcoming bout. “Tyson Fury will be different with my fight, it’s my opinion. Tyson Fury, when boxing with Francis Ngannou, maybe [he was thinking] it’s a UFC guy, ‘blah, blah, blah. I win, it’s an easy fight’. It’s my opinion. I don’t know. Maybe it’s true, maybe not, but I know that Tyson Fury will be different with me”, Usyk said Speaking to Seconds Out.
The unification fight became a reality a few months after that. It was expected to happen last December, but the clash with Ngannou made that an official date for the Usyk fight got postponed. There was an agreement for the fight to happen on February 17, but 10 days before, Fury got cut during a sparring session.
The injury the Fury suffered above his eye made the fight date was postponed to May 18. The fight organizer Turki Al-Sheikh Turki Al-Sheikh threatened the boxers with a $10 million fine for anyone who pulled out from the scheduled fight.