None of the 20 men to share a professional ring with Oleksandr Usyk have managed to take away his undefeated record, with Anthony Joshua realising on two occasions just how difficult a task that is.
Fans were left disappointed that an undisputed clash with Tyson Fury could not be made for this spring, although discussions are believed to be ongoing for a December date in Saudi Arabia.
However, another member of the Fury family believes he has what it takes to knock out the masterful Ukrainian – Tyson’s younger cousin, Hughie Fury.
In an interview with BBTV, the 28 year old channeled his inner Carl Froch, saying he was “too big” and “too strong” for the unified world champion.
“I’ll stop him. I’m too big, too strong, got too much of a high work rate for him.”
“I believe I’d beat Usyk.”
Though growing up somewhat in Tyson’s shadow, Hughie is a talented pugilist in his own right, winning the British heavyweight title back in 2015.
However, his career thus has been riddled with injuries and plagued with inactivity, and he has only boxed once in the last three years.
Despite still being young for a heavyweight, he has already shared the ring with the likes of Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Kubrat Pulev, however lost out on all three occasions.
As for Usyk, his next opponent is still expected to be WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, with a date for purse bids expected soon.
Despite Dubois’ physical advantages, most expect Usyk to retain his unified crown and finally set up a blockbuster showdown with ‘The Gypsy King’ for all the marbles in the later stages of this year.