All eyes in the sporting world are seemingly on Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this weekend as Tyson Fury and Oleksander Usyk are set to fight for all of the the heavyweight world titles.
The fight, which has been postponed twice previously due to injuries to the Englishman, will be the first time the heavyweight division could be undisputed in the four-belt era. It could also see Usyk become a two-time undisputed champion, having done so in the cruiserweight division in 2018.
Both men come into this fight with undefeated records, with Fury holding a 34-0-1 record with 24 KOs. Usyk meanwhile holds a 21-0 record with 14 KOs to his name.
With the amount of potential history on the line, tensions have been high during the fight build-up, with the Gypsy King's father John Fury headbutting a member of Usyk's entourage on Monday.
𝘈𝘕 𝙐𝙉𝘿𝙄𝙎𝙋𝙐𝙏𝙀𝘿 𝘍𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛 𝘞𝘌𝘌𝘒 𝘚𝘊𝘏𝘌𝘋𝘜𝘓𝘌 ✨@Tyson_Fury vs. @usykaa for them all 👑 #FuryUsyk | May 18 | Live on DAZN: Click link in bio to buy.#RingOfFire | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/BRFvsh8Jnh
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 13, 2024
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Quigley believes Fury still has the hunger
After his fight with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in October in which Fury came out with a spilt decision victory, there were questions raised on Fury's commitment to boxing.
Irish pro boxer and Ladbrokes ambassador Jason Quigley believes that the Englishman has the drive to deliver again on the big stage.
I believe the hunger is definitely still there in Tyson as he says himself. He's a fighting man and this is all he's ever known. This is his identity and it is what means the most to him and it's in the family. This runs deep in the Fury family and his reputation is on the line and I believe that he's going to be up for this 100%.
For the Ngannou fight, I believe that Tyson trained very hard for that fight, but there's a difference in training, very hard and being mentally prepared in training as well. But if you're not doing it with that mental fear factor as well, knowing that you're getting into that ring was somebody that can really punish, you can really hurt you.
It was just the persona of Ngannou and the talk on the street of Ngannou. He never fought a boxing match in his life. He's stepping in and maybe Tyson did just fall into that mental side of this is a walk in the park."
Quigley also made comments on how the treatment boxers receive in Saudi Arabia compared to usual fight camps could "soften" boxers in their preparations.
You know, it's not your typical boxer environment. Boxers were used coming from rough, tough, hungry gyms. Usually bad weather, you know, not in the finest of accommodations, you know, living in that, that fighter mindset, that fighter mentality.
But if you're staying in Saudi Arabia for 3 or 4 weeks leading up to a big fight, it can mentally soften you. You've got your plane landing and everybody's worshiping you, giving you flowers, you're getting picked up, dropped off everywhere and anywhere you go.
So I believe that it's great that Tyson has experienced that now and I see that he hasn't been there as long before this fight as he was previous fights. I believe that he is 100% going to be switched on mentally and physically."
Quigley on the mentality of Usyk
For his entire boxing career, Usyk has been known for his calm and collected mindset while he is in the ring.
Quigley believes that the Ukrainian's mindset and boxing intelligence will be the hardest thing for Fury to overcome in the fight.
Usyk is a phenomenal professional. He has that mindset, that demeanour of calmness as well as enjoyment in what he does. They say that happy fighter is a dangerous fighter and I can see that in Oleksander. He's very cool, calm, collected, knows his ability knows what he can do, and is very confident in himself.
His boxing IQ is just so on point. What most people don't realise is that it's just your distance and reading of a fighter and being able to have the instinct of when they're going to throw, when to get out of distance, when to get back into distance.
And I think that that's what was so great about Usyk against (Anthony) Joshua. Joshua just couldn't figure him out. Whenever Joshua was making attacks, Usyk was moving out, whenever Joshua wasn't ready, Usyk was attacking, catching him, countering him, throwing him off his game. Mentally, I think Usyk beat Joshua before physically beating him in the ring.
Tyson's biggest test is going to be figuring us out in terms of boxing I.Q, that mental battle, that intelligent battle in the ring because the two of them are so smart. I think that's what's going to be the main battle in this fight."
Quigley's prediction for Fury vs Usyk
Ladbrokes currently have Fury as a slight favourite to win at odds of 5/6, with Usyk on for 11/10 odds to win, and a draw at 12/1.
Quigley's predicts that it will be a close bout between the two undefeated champions, with a lot figuring each other out in the early rounds. But he believes that the Gypsy King will ultimately take the heavyweight throne in a unanimous decision.
This is going to be a very intriguing fight. I believe that the first few rounds are definitely going to be touch and go. It's going to be figuring each other out because both guys are going to be very wary.
Tyson is going to be wary of Usyk's boxing ability, his movement, his I.Q as I spoke about, and Usyk is going to be very aware of Fury's size, how elusive Fury is and it's going to take a few rounds, I think, for this fight to heat up.
But as the fight goes on, I see Tyson Fury starting to put the pressure on Usyk with his bigger frame, his longer arms. I believe that he's going to start out boxing Usyk, putting a bit of pressure on him, using his weight, using his size, using his strength.
And I believe that Tyson Fury is going to win this fight on a unanimous points decision."
You can watch Fury vs Usyk live on DAZN PPV on Saturday for €24.99 in Ireland and £24.99 in the UK, with all new customers receiving the first month free if they sign up to the monthly or instalment plan. Coverage starts on DAZN PPV from 5pm.
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