Duke McKenzie is backing Oleksandr Usyk to beat Tyson Fury on points and explains exactly how.
The British boxing legend expects Usyk to read Fury early on, neutralize him inside and then outmatch him in distance.
A lot has been said about Fury's superior physique and weight heading into the fight of the night.
Some members of the boxing fraternity believe the Manchenian will simply be too big for Usyk, who faces him for the undisputed heavyweight title on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
“The Gypsy King” is 6 feet 9 inches tall and tends to weigh around 270 pounds during his matches.
At the other end of the spectrum, Usyk, who previously boxed at cruiserweight, is 6 feet 3 inches tall but will be 50 pounds lighter when he steps on the scale.
But McKenzie, a former three-division world champion and veteran of 46 pro fights (39 wins, 7 losses), expects Usyk's boxing IQ to shine.
“Usyk won. I hate to throw cold water on anyone's parade, but for me Usyk wins because he's a much more complete all-around fighter,” he said on Saturday's Talk SPORT Fight He spoke at night.
“I don't think Fury has ever boxed someone like him, and Usyk is going to be this positive about this fight, and the good Oleksandr Usyk probably won't beat any heavyweight opponent that's ever existed. There shouldn't be…
“His ring IQ is very intelligent, very smart, his punches are perfect, his timing is perfect, he can negate the size of bigger guys.
“I think that's what he'll do against Fury. He'll get inside and stay in the pocket and overwork him and maybe wear him out, nullifying his size and taking that size difference away from him. You can take it away. That's how I look at this game.”
“After 12 rounds, Oleksandr Usyk will be too much for Tyson Fury in terms of workload. Fury's workload is not very good at the best of times. He fumbles, fumbles, feints, I have convulsions.”
McKenzie elaborated further on what Fury brings to the table, saying, “I can read Fury, I know what he's going to do.
“He's going to use his weight, he's going to use his height, he's going to lean on you, he's going to sweeten you, he's going to try to push you back if he can, he's going to mess with you, he's going to throw out jabs, he's going to mix things up a little bit, and he's just going to try to do you.” Please continue to lean on it.
“You can read it very easily, I think Usyk can read it very easily. So, for my money, if you can read Tyson Fury, you can defeat him.”
“The only problem Usyk has is he doesn't know what Fury will do from one moment to the next in the ring.”
