Tyson Fury insists beating Oleksandr Usyk won't be his greatest moment - but he's wrong
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Tyson Fury dismissed any idea that beating Oleksandr Usyk would be his greatest achievement in the ring. That’s quite the statement when you think about it. Because standing in front of Fury will be the man who ended his unbeaten run in May and became the best heavyweight of this era. At least for now.
Usyk, 37, is an undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight with an unblemished record as a professional having also won every major honour as an amateur. Yet Fury, 36, can argue that by beating Wladimir Klitschko when he was a huge underdog and ending that Ukrainian’s almost decade-long dominance was a bigger moment.
Or maybe pulverising feared puncher Deontay Wilder twice after dropping 10st, overcoming addiction and an anti-doping ban could be in the mix for that honour given the context. Yet Fury feels why beating Usyk would not be the standout moment of his 36-fight career is that because it would not be a surprise. To him at least.
“I’m expected to do it,” he said. “When I beat Klitschko, I was expected to get the floor wiped with me. “Beating this fellow, after losing by one point in my last fight on a split decision, It wouldn't be like, ‘Oh my God, massive upset’.”.
That’s certainly debatable. When the pair go into the ring again at the Kingdom Arena in the city that has now become - whether we like it or not - the hotbed of major boxing, Usyk will be favourite. Fury argues the last fight was close. It was on the scorecards. One judge gave it to Fury 114-113, the other two went with Usyk 114-113 and 115-112.
