Tyson Fury faces arguably the biggest test of his boxing career when he goes up against Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia, as two heavyweight titans meet for the first time.
Fury is facing the agony of suffering his first defeat professional defeat at the hands of Usyk, according to former heavyweight champion Joshua.
The undisputed fight will finally take place on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after it was rescheduled due to a deep cut Fury suffered while training.
Fury is set to defend his WBC title, while Usyk will put his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line after his most recent win against Daniel Dubois, knocking out the Briton in Poland in August 2023.
Something has got to give as both boxers head into the fight undefeated, with Fury’s controversial draw with Deontay Wilder the only blot against his record.
But for Joshua, who lost to Usyk in September 2021 by unanimous decision, there will only be one winner as he backed the Ukrainian to take down the ‘Gypsy King’.
“I’ve fought Usyk so I can only speak on what I’ve experienced with him – phenomenal fighter, I would say he’s going to do a really good job,” he told talkSPORT ahead of the fight.
“I’ve never fought Fury, so I can’t speak on what it’s like to face him. Only speaking on what I know, I have to say Usyk will be victorious.”
Will AJ face the winner?
The winner could end up facing former champion Joshua, 34, who won his last fight against Francis Ngannou. He has made his desire to fight Fury crystal clear, and beating Usyk would open the door to the blockbuster fight finally happening.
An all-British heavyweight match-up against Fury, the Mancunian who has won 24 of his 34 victories by knockout, could be one of the fights of the century. However, he has a score to settle with Usyk, who has beaten him twice on points in their overall head-to-head record.
Joshua‘s support for Usyk may come as a surprise given that Fury is likely to be the favorite, but Usyk holds a fine record of beating British boxers – including Derek Chisora and Tony Bellew in his career – and he will be lining up Fury as his fifth scalp.
