Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have been told they have no punch power by former rival Derek Chisora.
WBC champion Fury looks set to take on bitter rival Usyk in an undisputed title clash on April 29 at Wembley Stadium after months of social media talk and fight negotiations. The pair are considered the leading two fighters in the division, and are set to carry unbeaten records into the squared circle.
Fury called out Usyk when face-to-face following his recent win over Chisora in London late last year, which sees the pair now having touched gloves with 'WAR'. However in a short and sweet verdict on the fight, Chisora surprisingly suggested: "Both men don’t have power, so it’ll be a good fight.”
The 'Gypsy King' did manage to stop Chisora in their fight in 2022, but Usyk had much more difficulty in the ring with the Briton having boxed his way to victory after a turbulent start following his switch to heavyweight. Fury will likely go into the contest as the marginal favourite given his size advantage.
Although the fight has yet to be officially confirmed, Fury himself announced that it was on from his side of the negotiating table and would be undertaking a social media blackout to prepare for the clash. Negotiations have proved tough with a sanctioning deadline looming, as the pair publicly argued over the purse split.
After the Ukrainian agreed to a 70/30 percentage in his rival's favour, it appeared the showdown was on but Fury then added an extra demand that there was no rematch clause for either fighter. Despite a worrying update from Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk, the issues were ironed out with Frank Warren ensuring fans that the fight will go ahead.
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Despite many questioning Usyk's power having made the step up from cruiserweight, former champion Hasim Rahman has suggested that the Ukrainian is capable of stopping Fury and handing him his first loss. “I think Usyk can beat him," he said during an interview with Fight Hype. "I think Tyson Fury’s biggest advantage is that most heavyweights are really slow and he’s used to boxing against them.
"If you go against a boxer – kind of like Steve Cunningham – bad things can happen. I think Usyk is prime and is right into the heavyweight division. I think he can beat Tyson Fury. [The size] would be [an advantage] with most heavyweights who stand in front of you, and that Tyson can lean on and grab. But Usyk is not that type of heavyweight.
"He’s going to make him do the little spurts of boxing – he gonna make him do that the whole twelve rounds. And I think Tyson walking round almost 300 pounds gonna gas out … Turn the tables on Tyson and make him work. Make him get exhausted and then probably knock him out.”
