Former WBC cruiserweight champion, Tony Bellew, has made his pick for who should be Tyson Fury’s next opponent following the promise of ‘monstrous’ fight news.
Fury has revealed that his next fight is almost ready to be unveiled, but, unfortunately for fans, it’s not to the clash between he and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title.
Instead, whispers suggest that the undefeated champion will take on either former unified champion, Andy Ruiz, or Zhilei Zhang, who recently knocked out Joe Joyce in one of 2023’s early upsets.
In an interview with iFL TV, Bellew had a clear pick for which of the rumoured opponents Fury should face, believing the attributes of Zhang to make a more competitive bout.
“I think that they’re good fights. Both decent fights to be fair. Zhang [is a better fight], he’s going to come more. Not just because he beat Joyce, but because stylistically it is a harder fight, he can just jab the head off of Ruiz, he won’t even get close, Ruiz is smaller than me! Fury has to fight big guys.”
In contrast to Bellew’s observation, many feel that Fury’s toughest tests could come from smaller men like Usyk or Ruiz. He has himself described his fight with former cruiserweight champion, Steve Cunningham, as one of his hardest.
Either way, a bout with Ruiz is fair in terms of the WBC’s current rankings, whilst Zhang’s reputation in the sport has skyrocketed after his victory over Joyce.
This means either opponent could prove to be a satisfactory test for Fury, even if it is not as desirable as a clash with one of the ‘big guns’ of the division.