Fury vs Usyk – Boxing legend Kostya Tszyu has warned Tyson Fury over his preparations for an undisputed heavyweight title clash.
Tszyu, the number one in his division during the height of his career, believes Fury took his eye off the ball against Francis Ngannou.
Dropped to the canvas in Saudi Arabia, Fury saw out a tight decision that could have gone either way. “The Gypsy King” now faces Oleksandr Usyk in the most significant fight of his life.
Boxing legend Kostya Tszyu warns Tyson Fury
However, Tszyu says if Fury puts as much effort into Usyk on February 17 as he did for Ngannou, he will lose his world title and undefeated record.
“The fight ]with Ngannou] was so close it could go either way,” Tszyu told Fight Hub TV. “Probably, Tyson lost his respect for boxing for a little while.
“He thought he could do it [beat Ngannou] easily. But it would help if you never took fights easy. He never trained properly the way he was supposed to. He thought it was going to be easy.
“No, but it’s a good lesson. I am sure he will learn his lesson, which will help him. If Fury prepares [correctly], it’s still not going to be an easy fight for Usyk,” he added.
“Usyk is great. I love him. Usyk did great in the last few fights fighting against big fellas. He is not getting hit. That’s important.
“If Fury prepares like he prepared last fight, he will lose. He has to learn this, so maybe it is a good lesson for him.”
Fury vs Usyk
Fury aims to improve to 35-0 in an undefeated battle of combined records, reading 55-0 on the night.
The Morecombe puncher has been the reigning lineal heavyweight champion since November 2015. But after taking a break from boxing due to personal challenges, Fury made an impressive comeback by defeating Deontay Wilder to claim the WBC world title in their rematch.
He sealed their trilogy with a knockout victory in 2021.
Ukraine’s Usyk is an Olympic gold medalist. After establishing his dominance there, he moved from the cruiserweight division to the heavyweight division.
He caused an upset by defeating Anthony Joshua and becoming the unified heavyweight champion.
Usyk successfully defended his titles against Joshua in a rematch. Now, he sets his sights on becoming only the second cruiserweight champion ever to achieve undisputed status in the heavyweight division.
