Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang are both backing Tyson Fury to get the job done against Oleksandr Usyk.
All four world titles will be on the line when the heavyweight kings collide in Saudi Arabia on Saturday with one man to emerge as the division’s first undisputed champion in 25 years.
At 35 and 37 respectively, Fury and Usyk are undefeated with little to separate them on paper. All the championship gold has been tied up between the two men with Joyce and Zhang among the heavy hitters eager to force their way back into the world title picture once the dust settles.
Joyce and Zhang were both at one stage the mandatory challenger for the WBO belt that has been in Usyk’s possession since September 2021.
After losing twice to Zhang last year, Joyce is on the comeback trail, getting a lowkey win over Kash Ali in March with a big summer fight in the works.
Zhang meanwhile is currently in camp for a huge showdown with Deontay Wilder, part of the Queensberry vs Matchroom show in Saudi Arabia on 1 June with the Chinese heavyweight representing Frank Warren’s stable.
Both will be very interested observers this weekend with the Briton believing Fury has just enough to see off the supremely skilled Ukrainian.
‘It has gone back and forth, I did have Fury winning,’ Joyce told Metro.co.uk. ‘They are two very experienced, top level fighters who have been around boxing their whole lives.
‘Fury has the taller stature, the longer range and he can put his weight on Usyk on the inside. Usyk is maybe better in other departments, maybe a bit quicker on the inside and he does have the faster footwork.
‘He throws more punches too, he has that better punch volume. They are both equally skilled I think.
‘But Fury looks very switched on and he has more time to train for this. I think I’ll go with the Brit. But Usyk, he is so skilful, it is definitely a 50-50 fight.’
Zhang also believes Fury will leave Saudi as the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis this weekend.
In his last fight, Usyk was left on the canvas after Daniel Dubois caught him with a thunderous body shot that was deemed to be a low blow by the referee. The Ukrainian recovered to put Dubois down in round nine that night but Zhang believes that incident has left Fury will a clear and obvious target.
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‘From what I have seen from both men I think they are both in the best shape of their careers. I think Tyson will eventually get his hand raised on a points decision,’ Zhang said, with both he and Joyce speaking to Metro courtesy of Free Bets.
‘I don’t think Tyson even trained for the [Francis] Ngannou fight judging from his appearance in the ring that night, I don’t think he took that fight seriously at all. But that was a different Tyson Fury.
‘When you look at Oleksandr Usyk and his fight against Dubois, I remember the body shots and the damage they did. A lot of people thought it was a low blow but I do believe Tyson Fury is going to explore that same area on Usyk.’
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