Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn is full of admiration for Oleksandr Usyk but insists the former undisputed cruiserweight king will never be a true heavyweight.
Earlier this month, Usyk posted pictures of his physical transformation as he bulks up to face WBA Super, WBO and IBF champion Joshua in their clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25.
But Hearn feels that natural size will always matter and, for all his skill and accomplishments at cruiserweight and as an amateur, the Ukrainian will struggle against the true behemoths at heavyweight.
In truth, Usyk hasn’t really impressed as a heavy since cleaning out the cruiserweight division, halting the overmatched Chazz Witherpoon in seven and outpointing the ever-dogged Dereck Chisora.
“I think that Usyk will never be a fully-fledged heavyweight – a real heavyweight in terms of size,” Hearn told TalkSport.com. “But what he will always have is a huge amount of skill.
“It takes time for people to bed into heavyweight, so put it this way, it would’ve been a lot easier fight for AJ a year-and-a-half ago.
“Now Usyk has fought a real heavyweight contender in Chisora, that will actually help him to start to understand what needs to be done.
“But AJ’s a different kind of beast. A good big guy will always beat a good small guy, so we’ll see.”