Evander Holyfield has been assessing the upcoming undisputed fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
Usyk looks to emulate the success of Holyfield, who was the only boxer to win the undisputed championship in two weight classes in the three-belt era. The Ukrainian can do it with four belts, like ‘The Real Deal’, in both the cruiser and heavyweight classes.
It was put to Holyfield by DAZN Boxing that because of his size Fury would beat every heavyweight and is one of the greatest of all time. Holyfield disputed that and claimed Fury doesn’t fight well on the inside.
“That’s not true. There are things he don’t do well – he doesn’t fight inside real well, nobody comes in quick to hit him with punches. It will show when he fights Usyk.
“Usyk’s a good fighter but Usyk has got fast hands, he can fight inside, he can fight outside, so you will see a big difference. You’ve got to be a complete fighter to win all the time.”
Holyfield then claimed Fury, who Usyk’s team suspect has been ‘playing around’ rather than training of late, has been getting away with a lot of holding and wrestling on the inside but that he won’t be able to it with Usyk.
“Most good referees will let you fight inside, you can’t just grab the guy and hold like Fury does. His arms are so long he can hit someone twice before getting back in to hold again.
“Referees are supposed to be taking points. The art of the fight is you got to fight long range and on the inside.”
The fight will certainly present Fury with problems he hasn’t seen in some time, such as fighting a shorter, faster man.
Usyk has done well on his heavyweight journey against big men like Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, though Fury’s tag as a generational great makes him the toughest test yet. The pair are set to face of on February 17.