Oleksandr Usyk is a huge favorite to retain his titles against Tony Bellew on November 10 but remains cautious in his approach.
Bellew is currently a 9/2 against underdog with William Hill to take Usyk’s four cruiserweight titles in Manchester. This hasn’t stopped Usyk from declaring Bellew a warrior who fights to the end.
Usyk, largely unbackable at 1/7 on, is knuckling down to hard training to be the best he can be next month.
“I’ve been preparing for this fight for a long time, and I’m delighted that we’ve got the venue and the date finalized – I cannot wait to fight in the UK,” said Usyk.
“I am deep into my training camp with my team, working hard and preparing for a long fight with Tony.
“He says he will beat me, and I love his attitude, but you cannot beat up somebody invisible in the ring! As always, I will be victorious on Nov 10.
“I’m sure it won’t be an easy fight for me, and I’m delighted to come back to England, the country which gave me a chance to get some trophies already, that means a lot in my life.
“I’m just concentrating on my training camp and thinking about how I will overcome all of the challenges ahead of me before the fight.
“Maybe, I’m not a monster. I’m a white rabbit. I picked Tony Bellew because he is the man that takes the biggest challenges.
“He is not the usual type of fighter that will come. See how hard it is and quit. He will come to fight until the end.
“These are the kind of fights that the World wants to see,” he added.
UK
Alex Karassyuk of K2 Promotions added: “I would like to say some pleasant words to the true warrior, the lion heart that we respect so much, Tony Bellew.
“He proved many times that being an underdog does not mean being a loser. Of course, I will be supporting Usyk on November 10. But I want to wish Tony good luck and a successful training camp. Usyk is just extraordinary. He’s one in a million.
“Together, we have accomplished every boxers’ dream within just 15 fights. In five years, we collected all of the belts in the division. Now we are here in the native land of boxing.
“This matchup is something the World was waiting for. The winner will get these amazing belts and probably book a place in the Boxing Hall of Fame. This is history in the making.”
Should Usyk win, his ultimate goal of facing unified heavyweight king Anthony Joshua draws closer.
