Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet on May 18 (Picture: Getty)
Tyson Fury believes his will to win will give him the crucial edge in his upcoming undisputed heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
The mouth-watering showdown to crown the division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 is set to take place on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Fury, who has been recovering from a cut which forced the fight to be pushed back three months, has often been dismissive of Usyk and previously labelled him as a blown-up cruiserweight.
But with just a fortnight to go until their highly anticipated bout, Fury appears to have changed his tune and was full of praise for the Ukrainian’s talent.
‘Oleksandr Usyk’s a real bad man and to underestimate Usyk you’d be a mug,’ he said in an interview with Queensberry Promotions.
‘I’m training hard for him, I’m doing everything I can. I respect Usyk as a man. I respect his career as well – Olympic champion, undisputed cruiserweight champion, unified heavyweight champion.
‘You have to respect that, I’m fighting the real deal. I’m looking forward to the challenge. He’s a southpaw, he’s got good footwork, good boxing ability, technically sound. He’s proved he can mix it with the big heavyweights because he’s beat Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.’
Fury last fought in October 2023 against Francis Ngannou (Picture: Getty)
Usyk has won all five fights since his move up to heavyweight in 2019 and has already achieved undisputed status once before in his career after his exploits in the cruiserweight division.
But Fury was keen to dismiss talk of styles and ability when asked to make a prediction, instead insisting it would be the fighters’ mental toughness that determined the winner.
‘I’m messing with an elite fighter who’s got more than boxing ability. He’s stubborn and he wants to win like I do,’ the Brit added.
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‘All of the talent and attributes aside, it will come down to who wants it most on the night.
‘If he wants it more than him, he’ll win and if I want it more than him then I’ll win. I just think my will and determination will be more than his on the night.’
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