Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: Who could win and why

Fighter turned reality TV star Tyson Fury’s reputation as one of the finest British heavyweight boxers of the last 50 years is secure; his fast, powerful ringwork, no less than his formidable record, has earned him a place alongside countrymen such as Lennox Lewis. Many would say that, at the age of 36, the At Home With The Furys star — and older half-brother of recent Jake Paul opponent Tommy Fury — has nothing left to prove. But earlier this month, his 36th professional fight — against Ukrainian champ Oleksandr Usyk — was announced for next February in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh.

So, how do the two men match up? Here are the stats.

Fury and Usyk – how they match up

Fury’s record can scarcely be bettered. In the 35 bouts he has contested since his professional debut in 2008, he has achieved a record of 34 wins and a single draw – in the first of his three lauded fights with Deontay Wilder in 2018. Most of those wins have come by knockout, and only two of his 10 points victories have been through a split decision.

Usyk is also undefeated. In the 21 professional bouts he has fought since 2013, 14 have been by knockout, with seven points victories including one split decision and one majority decision. The pick of these victories was his 2021 victory in London against Anthony Joshua, which brought him the WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles. Usyk successfully defended those titles in a rematch last year.

Who could win?

By consensus, Fury is slightly favored to win, with bookmakers’ odds of 8/13 against Usyk’s odds of 13/10, as per Give Me Sport. But the fact is that, on the strength of the fighters’ recent form, both have chances for victory.

It’s true that Fury, at 6 feet 9 inches, has an enormous advantage in both height and reach over the 6 feet 3 inches Usyk. But on the other hand, Usyk is a southpaw, and was doubtless much heartened when, last month, Fury labored to a split decision victory over former MMA fighter Francis Ngannou in Riyadh. Ngannou attributed his creditable performance to his decision to switch frequently to a southpaw stance during the bout. Usyk had a front-row seat during the fight, and was surely taking notes.

 But Usyk has also had the occasional wobble recently. He looked vulnerable at times in his 2022 matchup with Joshua, which ended in a narrow split decision win. And in August, Daniel Dubois put Usyk on the canvas during their fight in Wroclaw, Poland – though the referee judged the hit, somewhat controversially, to be a low punch, and gave Usyk time to recover.

But someone has to give – and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top next February.