There is a common perception that Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) does worse against "small heavyweights". This was once demonstrated by Steve Cunningham (30-9-1, 13 KOs), two-time World Heavyweight Champion.
"The Gypsy King" remains the WBC heavyweight champion, although he has until September 2 to announce whether he intends to continue his career. Alexander Usik (20-0, 13 KOs) holds the other three titles, IBF, WBA and WBO, which he defended a week ago by defeating Anthony Joshua for the second time.
The Englishman announced his return from a very short athletic retirement to be able to unify the entire royal division. But there are also those who hoped Joshua would win the rematch because they preferred Fury to face him rather than Usik. According to the USS, Fury could lose his undefeated status in a fight against the Ukrainian.
Cunningham and Fury met in April 2013. Tyson scored an early victory in the seventh round, but before that he was on the floor himself and after six rounds lost on the judges' scorecards, 56-56, 55-57 and 55-57. The Brit then invited the Philadelphia boxer to his prep camp before his fight with David Haye.
"Fury himself admitted that I gave him the toughest fight and he had to resort to tricks to beat me. In a fight with Usik, they'll both have their strengths, but they'll also have their weaknesses. Fury isn't easy to knock out opponents, so I'm leaning toward a points win for Usik. To knock me out, he had to immobilize me first by pinning me against the ropes. He just shoved me in there. Someone who is on the move all the time will give him a lot of trouble. Whisker is my size and a great athlete. He's also a better boxer than I am, and he's also a lefty. He hits at unusual angles, changes position, moves great in the ring and has a great boxing IQ. He also has a big heart, and his weakness mentality seems to be out of the question. Fury's disqualification is also a realistic scenario. Referee Eddie Cotton played a big role in the fight against me, because if he had given Fury a warning for his infractions, the fight could have gone differently. I didn't have the promotional support that Usik had. My wife was my manager, and the third person on the team was coach Naazim Richardson. Aegis Klimas won't let Fury fight Usik the way he fought me. He can't get away with it anymore. I showed him how to box against Fury, and Usik, thanks to the people behind him and his mobility, will win such a fight. Because Fury can't afford to box, and he won't be allowed to fight like he did with me, and those tactics won't work either," Cunningham believes.
"What does a fighter who doesn't want a fight do? He raises the stakes so much that it becomes unrealistic. Right now Fury is demanding $500 million. It's clear no one's going to pay him that kind of money. I think Fury raised the bar on purpose so that the fight with Usik just wouldn't happen," Cunningham added.
