Tyson Fury has doubled back on his trash talk of Oleksandr Usyk after fans became used to his ‘middleweight’ and ‘midget’ references.
The Ukrainian hopes to put his WBA, IBF, WBO. IBO, and The Ring titles on the line against Fury’s WBC belt in a fight that would see an undisputed king of the heavyweights crowned.
Usyk already achieved such a feat a weight class down, uniting all of the honours in a touch cruiserweight division. Since his move up to join the likes of Fury, he has been plagued by questions of his size amidst a generation of super-heavies. These were soundly answered when he beat former- unified champion, Anthony Joshua, twice.
Despite his rival’s wins against ‘AJ’, Fury has been quick to dismiss him as too small to compete. Now, as a fight between the pair nears, he’s changed his tune. ‘The Gypsy King’ told TalkSPORT that he was ‘a pretty big boy.’
“Listen it is boxing and styles do make fights. He’s beat a big guy before, AJ – 6ft 6ins – I’m not that much taller than him. I’ve been searching the world, I’ve travelled all over, to find a challenger who can beat me, and I can’t find one. 14 years…
Usyk’s about 6ft 3ins and just under 16 stone. He’s a pretty big boy, he’s a lot bigger than Muhammad Ali was back in the day. He’s bigger than Evander Holyfield, he’s bigger than Mike Tyson, he’s bigger than Joe Frazier, he’s bigger than Ken Norton.
He’s probably the same size as ‘big’ George Foreman. Everybody used to say ‘big’ George Foreman, now they’re saying ‘little tiny’ Usyk at the same weight and size.”
When he refers to everybody saying ‘tiny little Usyk’, he must be including himself. Up until very recently, Fury was adamant that the size disparity meant he would dispatch him within six rounds. Now it seems Fury is laying a bit more credit at the Ukrainian’s door.
Usyk has the same listed height as Muhammad Ali at 6 ft 3 in – however ‘Big George’ did edge them out by an inch. Fury, on the other hand, towers over all comers at a reported 6 ft 9 in. It’s something that he uses well against opponents and – paired with his movement and new style complete with knockout blows – is why he’s undefeated in the division.
The undisputed fight is rumoured to land in Saudi Arabia in the first quarter of 2023