We’re now just a matter of days away from the biggest rematch in this modern era of heavyweight boxing between Ukrainian king Oleksandr Usyk and ‘The Gypsy King’, Tyson Fury.
As boxing fanatics both past and present begin to share their predictions for the upcoming heavyweight rematch, one former champion is expecting a masterclass from ‘The Cat’.
Three-time champion Michael Moorer explains Usyk-Fury 2 TKO prediction
Having fought the likes of George Foreman and Evander Holyfield, it’s safe to say that former light heavyweight and heavyweight world champion Michael Moorer knows his stuff when it comes to enormous title showdowns.
Speaking to BoxNation at the WBC Annual Convention in Germany, Moorer would state that whilst the first fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury was closely contested, he objects to any notion of a ‘robbery’.
“I did see it as a close fight, but I would have given it to Usyk… He’s a phenomenal fighter, the amateur tutorage behind him and to go on to be a damn good professional fighter, you’ve got to take your hat off to him.”
When asked whether there was anything that Tyson Fury can do to help swing the rematch on December 21 in his favor, Moorer was surprisingly honest about The Gypsy King’s chances of success.
“Sugar Hill’s doing a great job with him, but my thing with Oleksandr Usyk, he just has the smarts to do a lot more and Tyson Fury back in the day, he wasn’t a real boxer guy – he was out of shape and stuff like that.
“Usyk’s a guy who’s always in shape and doing the right things, I think Usyk will stop him probably in the 10th or 11th round – I think Usyk will win.”
Moorer himself is one of the most prolific Southpaws in boxing history and was keen to celebrate fellow Southpaw Usyk’s achievements – even claiming that he’s “probably” unbeatable in his new era of heavyweight boxing.
“In this era, probably, because he knows how to fight and especially if you’ve got a Ukrainian that knows how to fight, he’ll go onto be heavyweight champion as he is – and he can be so much better.
“Just by his style and how he puts punches together; he takes risk at times, if he’s got you hurt then he’ll go in for the kill… If he doesn’t have you hurt, he’ll work until he gets you hurt, and I like stuff like that.”
Lennox Lewis weighs in on ‘heavyweight great’ debate ahead of Usyk-Fury 2
Aside from the fight itself, an interesting narrative that’s taken hold in recent weeks has been whether either fighter could be considered amongst the ‘all-time’ greats with a win on December 21.
“Absolutely, [the winner would have] definitely worked the way he’s supposed to – to [be added to] the list,” Lennox Lewis told BoxNation, also at the WBC Annual Convention in Germany.
“It’s going to be a tough fight for both guys; it’s going to be mentally tough; it’s going to be physically tough… Both guys want to win this fight. Oleksandr Usyk hasn’t lost the fight. He wants to keep that going; he wants to be the heavyweight that hasn’t lost a fight.”
Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 goes down live from the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, December 21.