Pie weighed Usyk's chances against Fury

Dmitry Pirog, Soviet Sport
Dmitry Pirog, Soviet Sport

Former world middleweight champion Dmitry Pirog (20-0, 15 KOs) shared his thoughts on the chances of the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs) in a fight against the WBC title holder Tyson Fury (31-0-1, 22 KOs).

“Continuing the theme of Usyk, I will say that Fury will be his most difficult opponent. I doubt to express confidence that Usyk will win. It will be 50/50, because with all the rather interesting behavior that Tyson Fury demonstrates, he is, so to speak, mentally prepared for any confrontation. He is a mature person in boxing.

Moreover, he is the kind of boxer who cannot be discouraged in any situation. He survives everywhere. And not just survives because the central nervous system is ready for this, but because he comes out psychologically relaxed. This is not given to everyone. Moreover, he is more trained than many people realize. Emanuel Steward also told me when we crossed paths. He then coached Klitschko. This was when almost no one was talking about Fury. With the same anthropometric data as Wladimir Klitschko, this, he says, is the next champion.

When Emanuel Steward passed away, they boxed. I've been following him since then. I think that this will be the most difficult confrontation for Usyk. But if he passes, God willing, Tyson Fury, then he can be safely put on a par with Muhammad Ali. This is purely my personal opinion," Pirog said in an interview with the Vitor Yalymov Boxing Studio YouTube channel.

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