The former cruiserweight world champion has given his assessment on the upcoming undisputed heavyweight title showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Bellew famously took on the Ukrainian in 2018, having some success early in the fight before being flattened in the eighth round of the contest.
Speaking on Froch On Fighting he didn’t sit on the fence when making a pick for the fight between the ‘The Gypsy King’ and his former opponent.
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He said: Oleksandr Usyk, points – 100%. I thought AJ would beat him first time around, so it’s got nothing to do with [me being a previous opponent].
“What’s the style [Fury] struggles with most? A back-foot fighter. [Usyk] wants you to attack him. He makes an absolute fool of you. He will leave Fury no option but to attack him, because he’ll build up an early lead and Fury will be chasing a ghost.
“Fury is not going to be running after Usyk like a madman because that would be playing into his hands, but there are times he will have to press and that’s where he’ll fall short.
“Usyk’s feet are exceptional. I’ve never seen feet like his ever before. Usyk has seen people like Fury before – he’s come up against the likes of Joe Joyce, he’s fought big, big heavyweights. He’s fought Anthony Joshua – the second-biggest punching heavyweight in the world. He’s been in there with big guys – it doesn’t phase him.
“His judgement of distance…his front foot is so close to you all the time, and you think he’s in range but he’s actually not. I can’t put into words how good he is – the best I faced, by a mile. Fury will never have seen footwork like this.
“Once Usyk’s had a good look and set his traps and figured you out completely…he’s an absolutely formidable, fantastic fighter.”
Do you agree with Bellew? Let us know in the comments.
