By Shaun Murphy-
Tyson Fury is a bad copy of Mohammed Ali, Undisputed world heavyweight champion Olegsander Usyk(pictured) has said of the Wbc champion, who is yet to officially prove he is the best heavyweight in the world.
Fury is rated the best heavyweight in the world, but his aborted fight with Usyk in light of a surfaced video footage in which the gypsy king highlight former cruiser champ Steve Cunningham was his worst nightmare because he was slippery and difficult to target, has led many fans to wonder if it is indeed possible that the Ukranian was about to pull an unlikely upset, had Fury found a way to resurrect the fight between two undefeated boxers in the same weight class.
Fury, who is known for his super confident rhetoric before fights has for the first time been accused by fight fans of running scared of the much smaller Usyk whom many would naturally expect to be no match for the gigantic gypsy king, who blends skill with an all attacking style, and has so far proven to be very difficult to beat.
But critics and analysts believe Fury may be secretly worried of an embarrassing shock defeat, and as a result has found every reason to avoid the much awaited showdown.
Respected heavyweight champions in the past, including Lennox Lewis, Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson, took on all contenders, confidently allowing their legacy to be defined by the overall results of their performances.
Ali and Tyson suffered numerous losses during their time as respected heavyweight champions, and Lennox Lewis suffered two shock defeats, both of which he eventually avenged.
Each of those fighters were evaluated according to overall perceptions of their respective careers, and all retained a level of respect despite their losses. Fury is at the moment the odd one out, though their are some not so unreasonable views that this is because he insists on not considering Usyk as the A side even if he holds most of the belts.
The general view is that the usually confident Fury is showing some signs of fear about Usyk, most fight fans would not normally expect from him.
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Usyk, who unified the cruiserweight belts to become undisputed at that weight, ahs so far delivered a major feat in replicating his success at heavyweight has hit out at Fury and explained the reasons behind his decision to stop negotiating with Fury over a potential fight. At to that the fact the Ukranian world an olympic gold medal in the amateurs, and it becomes obvious that he is a force to be reckoned with. It is still very hard to picture him toppling a man of Fury’s broad abilities, a scenario that would be an absolute nightmare for the very bullish one and only Tyson Fury
“I see that nothing is happening, he is trying to play with us, and I told him: ‘That’s it, goodbye’,” Usyk said in an interview with a Ukrainian media outlet
“He wants to copy Muhammad Ali, but it’s a bad copy.
“He says, ’70/30, I am the king. It’s all thanks to m e.’ I don’t respond to that. I understand that this is mind games.
“The king is the king. And the king does not need to shout that he is the king.”
Usyk withdrew from the unified contest, after Fury presented a one sided contract that put the Ukranian at a huge disadvantage on a 70-30 split. The Ukranian agreed to the greedy deal, but insisted on a rematch clause being included in the contract, with a guarantee that he would have the larger share in a rematch if he wins the first fight.
Fury declined the suggestion, leading to a collapse of the big unification showdown.
Secretly Scared?: Tyson Fury has been accused on ducking Usyk
Image: skysports.com
Fury’s decision not to pursue the fight and seek a diplomatic solution is a bad look on the man who many already believe is the best heavyweight of his generation.
Most boxing fans will agree that the gypsy king has the beating of the much smaller Olegsander Usyk. Fury’s much bigger size , mobility, and lion heart makes it difficult to imagine an upset, but his decision to abandon the fight raises questions about his confidence.
Unifying the belts like every boxing legend before him is agreed to the path expected of the leading heavyweight of any generation.
Promoter Bob Arum has expressed confidence that a clash between Fury and Usyk will take place later in the year, but those encouraging words are meaningless without the open consent of Tyson Fury backed by action.
Following Anthony Joshua’s recent defeat of Jermain Franklin at the o2 Arena last Saturday ahs paved the way for a potential clash with unbeaten Tyson Fury, but the fact Joshua has lost twice to Usyk means a victory over the Londoner by the current Wbc king will do little to repair his damaged image after appearing to avoid a meeting with the slippery and talented Ukranian.
Usyk’s wife last week taunted Tyson Fury with a social media troll in which she referred to him as ‘gypsy queen’.
Meanwhile, the floor is open to Daniel Dubois to capture all the titles and official lay claim to the no 1 stop, or for Usyk to further establish himself as a feared champion, who actually is the man to beat in the division.
“I will go to the UK. I love it very much. My first big wins were in the UK. Anthony Joshua. I like it here, I like the fans, the people.”
The WBA has ordered a mandatory defence between Usyk and Dubois, with Frank Warren expressing confidence that Dubois will stop the talented and unbeaten Ukranian.
Usyk is unbeaten in 20 fights with 19 wins coming inside the distance, and the one loss to Joe Joyce in that tough fight in 2020 which ended after the Londoner’s socket was damaged.
The 24-year-old suffered an orbital fracture and decided to sit out the referee’s count in the tenth round of his heavyweight showdown with Joyce in 2020.
Big hitter Daniel Dubois gets crack at world title Image: Sky News
Dubois has expressed a desire to avenge his defeat to Joyce after hooking up with new trainer Shane Mcguigan.
Unbeaten heavyweight contender, JoeJoyce has recently expressed frustration at seeing Dubois rise in the rankings ahead of him, despite the fact he holds a win over the big hitting Londoner, and has never been defeated himself. The resilient Londoner has also expressed confidence he would knockout Anthony Joshua if the pair ever locked horns.
His confidence adds to the interest in the division, and he will be waiting in the wings should Dubois prevail against Usyk in their yet to be scheduled big bout.
At the moment, Usyk remains the only man with his reputation fully in tact in the heavyweight division.