Three-division world champion, James Toney, has made his prediction ahead of the long-awaited undisputed heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk – and believes one man is in for an ‘easy’ night’s work.
After spending the majority of 2023 locked in negotiations, this month boxing fans celebrated as a first undisputed heavyweight title bout since 1999 was officially confirmed, with the sport set to finally crown its first ever four-belt champion in the division.
Despite both men remaining undefeated, both have shown vulnerabilities in recent months in their respective outings, making the contest all the more intriguing.
Fury was expected to dominate Cameroon debutant, Francis Ngannou, last month but instead ended up picking himself up off of the canvas and controversially edged a split-decision win.
Meanwhile, Usyk also hit the deck in a defence of his WBA, WBO and IBF titles, after Daniel Dubois landed a borderline low-blow which floored the Ukrainian for four minutes with a punch that is still contested as a legal one by the Brit and his team.
Plenty of sceptics have suggested that a lack of preparation from Fury was the reason behind his below-par display, arguing that he likely overlooked his opponent and would have fulfilled expectations otherwise.
James Toney was one of many fighters who was undeterred by the performance of ‘The Gypsy King’, telling ES News that he anticipates a comfortable victory for the WBC champion, in what many expect to be his toughest test to date.
“”Fury. Easy.””
“”Fury is a better boxer. He is a better boxer and he is more aggressive. Usyk, he is a good boxer but he is not aggressive, he boxes to stay safe.””
Fury-Usyk will take place on February 17th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in one of the heavyweight divisions’ most hotly-anticipated showdowns since the turn of the millennium.
