Tyson Fury backed to stop Oleksandr Usyk 'looking pretty' ahead of mega boxing showdown

Tyson Fury backed to stop Oleksandr Usyk 'looking pretty' ahead of mega boxing showdown

WATCH NOW: Tyson Fury holds press conference ahead of Oleksandr Usyk fight

Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 14/04/2024

- 17:46

The duo will do battle on May 18

Former Dillian Whyte trainer Mark Tibbs believes Tyson Fury will stop Oleksandr Usyk from 'looking pretty' in their boxing match next month.

The duo will do battle in Saudi Arabia on May 18 in arguably the biggest boxing match of the 21st century.


Fury has been written off by some after struggling during his narrow win over Francis Ngannou back in October.

He will be facing a Usyk who is unbeaten in all 21 of his career fights so far, with the Ukrainian also twice getting the better of Anthony Joshua.

Tyson Fury Oleksandr Usyk

Tyson Fury has been tipped to stop Oleksandr Usyk 'looking pretty' in their boxing match next month

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Tibbs has now tabled his prediction for the seismic clash.

And Whyte's former trainer thinks Fury will be too strong for Usyk, though did hail the 37-year-old for his technical ability.

"I have always fancied Fury because of the obvious reasons – he is the bigger animal, the natural heavyweight, as opposed to the pumped-up cruiserweight," he told Boxing Social.

"But he is the superior boxer and he handles all of the top heavyweights in the world – including Anthony Joshua who he [Usyk] has beaten twice.

“The cut [to Fury] threw me a bit but I have to back my guy Tyson Fury, our [Britain’s] own guy.

"He will have his work cut out, but I still think that because he is the bigger animal, unless he under-prepares then it could go wrong for him, I am backing Tyson Fury.

"He will have knuckled down for this fight, for sure.

“Tyson will know how to ‘front-hand’ him [Usyk], manage him and get him on his heels a little bit, still boxing but man-handle him a little bit, to stop Usyk looking pretty like he always does.”

It'll be fascinating to see how the action unfolds.

Fury looked in great shape and was in good spirits at a snap press conference held in Morecambe earlier in the week.

The Gypsy King, speaking on Wednesday, revealed he'd brought his father into his camp.

And he also dubbed John Fury his 'secret weapon', saying: "Yeah, I'm training hard obviously.

"I'm in fantastic shape, obviously. And I've got a massive fight coming up, obviously.

"There's no room for error, no room for any problems.

"40 days out, feeling fantastic and I know all boxers say the same like 'oh s**t I'm having a fantastic training camp yada yada yada.'

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Mark Tibbs

Tyson Fury has been hailed by Mark Tibbs ahead of his blockbuster boxing fight with Oleksandr Usyk

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The Gypsy King, speaking on Wednesday, revealed he'd brought his father into his camp.

And he also dubbed John Fury his 'secret weapon', saying: "Yeah, I'm training hard obviously.

"I'm in fantastic shape, obviously. And I've got a massive fight coming up, obviously.

"There's no room for error, no room for any problems.

"40 days out, feeling fantastic and I know all boxers say the same like 'oh s**t I'm having a fantastic training camp yada yada yada.'

Tyson Fury

Tyson Fury has slimmed down and was in good spirits earlier this week as his fight with Oleksandr Usyk looms

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While he was initially frustrated by the delay, the Briton insists that's no longer the case.

"At first I was a little bit depressed for the first day or so," he said.

"But afterwards, like all things in life, God's timing is impeccable, perfect.

"Not late, not early, it's bang on time. It wasn't my time to fight for the championship then but it is going to be my time on May 18.

"So I'm really preparing fantastic for it."

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