Oleksandr Usyk heads into Saturday’s unified heavyweight title fight as a narrow but clear favourite to repeat his May triumph over former WBC champion Tyson Fury.
That represents a turnaround from their first meeting in which it was Fury who started as the favourite to become the division’s first undisputed champion for 25 years.
Usyk’s split-decision victory, plus the fact that he almost stopped Fury in the ninth round, has altered perceptions.
However, there are still many within the industry who are backing the “Gypsy King” to turn the tables on the Ukrainian great.
Below we have compiled 25 predictions from former fighters and experts from around the boxing world.
1 Mike Tyson, former two-time unified heavyweight champion
“Usyk is the best heavyweight in the world at the moment. But I’m going for Fury to beat him.
“Why? Because I’m a fan. Because his father gave him my name. I’m not abandoning him now.”
Pick: Fury
2 Lennox Lewis, former undisputed heavyweight champion
“Well, I cannot go against Usyk. Oleksandr Usyk has proven himself time and time again, and he’s still undefeated. It really comes down to who boxes the best. Who’s smart in the ring.
“I didn’t think Tyson Fury was smart in the first fight. I think he played around a little bit too much and allowed Oleksandr Usyk to really pile up the points. Oleksandr Usyk is a difficult opponent. He moves all the time, he’s always throwing punches, he’s in great shape, and that’s hard to beat.”
Pick: Usyk
3 Roy Jones Jr, former four-division world champion
“Tyson Fury usually does really well in rematches, but at the end of the last fight he did not have the momentum. So, Usyk has the momentum, and momentum is a hard thing to shift.”
Pick: Usyk
4 Ricky Hatton, former two-division world champion
“I think if [Fury] can impose his height, impose his reach, impose his weight difference – all the advantages he has that he didn’t use last time. He allowed the smaller man to bully him around the ring. I’d be inclined to hold my feet and hit him hard … impose the advantages he didn’t last time, and also, just one voice in the corner.”
Pick: Fury
5 Anthony Joshua, former two-time unified heavyweight champion
“I think it’s going to be a tough fight early on and then I feel like Usyk will edge it again. He’s a class operator and I feel like Usyk’s one of the best out there. That’s why I think he’ll win.”
Pick: Usyk
6 Jai Opetaia, reigning cruiserweight champion
“I feel like, in this fight, we’re going to see a version of Fury that we haven’t seen for a long time: a hungry Fury, [who knows he] can be beaten if he doesn’t perform well. So, I feel like he’s going to be preparing the best he’s prepared in a long time, to win this fight. He knew his boxing IQ was better than a lot of those fighters that he’s been fighting; he relied on that. This one, he can’t rely on that natural ability. He needs to put in the hard work as well, and I feel like we’re going to see that.”
Pick: Fury
7 Daniel Dubois, current IBF heavyweight champion
“I'm still backing Fury. I hope our man does it. Usyk is capable. Fury should jump on him and smother him. Fury is a slick boxer, too, but it will be a great fight and I'll be out there calling on to fight the winner.”
Pick: Fury
8 Callum Smith, former WBA super middleweight champion
“Usyk might just have his number, he might have all of their numbers, he’s hard to beat. I think going off the last fight, with the momentum, you’d have to back Usyk, but I think it will be another close one. It was razor close last time.
Pick: Usyk
9 Lawrence Okolie, former WBO cruiserweight champion
“I think Fury is going to win. The first fight was so close but I think Fury has more adaptations he can make. Usyk is so consistent, he always at an ‘A’, I just think maybe Fury can change and get to an ‘A-plus’.”
Pick: Fury
10 Dan Morley, professional fighter and social media pundit.
“I can’t see Usyk doing anything differently to what he’s done and that’s good enough to win the fight. But I can see Tyson doing things differently in this fight. So, my head says Usyk points but I do think Tyson can adjust and pull this one off.”
Pick: Usyk
11 Johnny Fisher, British heavyweight
“I'm backing Great Britain as always. Tyson Fury has done a lot for me, a small amount for him, but a massive amount for me and my career when I was able to spar with him. Regardless of that, I think the natural attributes he's got and if he invests to the body a lot more in this fight, because he was really hurting Usyk when he did, he can get a stoppage in rounds six to eight.”
Pick: Fury
12 Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport promoter
“If Fury wins – and I'm actually leaning towards him, I've had a little bit of a [switch] – Fury could fight AJ [Anthony Joshua] for the unified world heavyweight title. The biggest fight ever in the sport. Wembley, Riyadh, wherever.”
Pick: Fury
13 Amir Khan, former unified light-welterweight champion
“Good fight. I think this time Fury knows what mistakes he made in the first fight. He knows that he can’t stand in front of a strong Usyk. Usyk still has a lot of power, and he’s felt Usyk’s power this time, knowing that Usyk has come up a weight and still holds that power.
“So, I think Fury is going to be one step ahead. Whenever Fury comes back in a rematch, he is always much better so he could probably stop Usyk towards the later rounds.”
Pick: Fury
14 Joseph Parker, former WBO heavyweight champion
“I think Tyson’s mindset has changed coming into this fight. I feel that if you have a different mindset, that can bring a lot of changes. I believe Tyson can beat Usyk on a points decision, but it’s a tough one. I’m siding with Tyson, but I think it’s a points decision.”
Pick: Fury
15 Tony Bellew, former WBC cruiserweight champion and Usyk opponent
“I can’t look past Usyk. He outboxes him this time and probably ends up winning on points. The first fight surprised me a little bit as Usyk went on the front foot from the first bell and he was actually fighting like he was the bigger man. I think that might've shocked Fury a little bit.
“Now Usyk knows he can hurt Fury and also be fine up close, he’ll be more confident here, but I still think he’ll go on the outside and box him on the back foot. Fury has no choice but to be more aggressive this time around, but those tactics can play into Usyk’s hands, and I think he’ll go 2-0 against Fury and do it unanimously this time.”
Pick: Usyk
16 Anthony Crolla, former WBA lightweight champion
“Tyson has got to be a lot more respectful of the power Usyk looks to be developing as a heavyweight. You have to make Oleksandr Usyk the favourite for the moments that happened in the first fight.
“I’m glad the referee kept the fight going after round nine, but Tyson was very fortunate not to have been stopped because a lot of people would’ve been stopped.”
Pick: Usyk
17 George Groves, former WBA super middleweight champion
“Based on the first fight, the wear and tear and mileage on both fighters, and where they are in their careers, Usyk is still the fresher fighter. Usyk nearly stopped him in the first fight. He’s not the type to think, ‘I almost had him last time; one big shot will finish it’.
“He knows it’s going to be a tough fight, as it always is for him. Usyk leaves no stone unturned, and I think it’s a clearer win for Usyk this time.”
Pick: Usyk
18 Derek Chisora, former opponent of both Usyk and Fury
“[Usyk] is still the same, bro. It’s going to be a good fight, we’re going to see a little bit of difference, but you have to understand: Tyson will come a little bit different, but Usyk will come a little bit different [as well]. But as the scales hit right now, my money’s still edging on Usyk.”
Pick: Usyk
19 Carl Frampton, former two-weight champion
“I fancy Fury. My mind hasn’t really swayed from start to finish, which is strange in a fight of this magnitude; I’ve been saying Fury from the start. I think Fury is in the zone now, he’s serious, he’s ready to fight. Both guys seem to be very, very confident. Both, I think, know it’s going to be a difficult fight.”
Pick: Fury
20 Joe Cordina, former IBF super featherweight champion
“Fury, [rounds eight to 12], stoppage. He’ll struggle with the footwork of Usyk for the first half, and then he’ll just think: ‘I’ve got to get on it now’. And the weight, the size will all come into play.”
Pick: Fury
21 Lauren Price, Welsh pro boxer
“Fury obviously is massive and a great champion. But I can’t go against Usyk. He’s phenomenal – his ring IQ, everything really … Usyk by decision.”
Pick: Usyk
22 Malik Scott, trained Deontay Wilder
“Usyk wins by stoppage. I think Usyk is too smothering, his speed is too smothering, his style is too smothering for Fury to put up with. The punches that hurt you the most are the ones you don’t see, and most of the time Usyk is hurting guys it’s with punches they don’t see. I just don’t think Fury can beat Usyk.”
Pick: Usyk
23 Barry Jones, former WBO super featherweight champion
“Everything should point to Usyk winning because he won the first one. But you are talking about the two most adaptable heavyweights of this generation. Now Tyson knows what that pressure feels like from Usyk, and he can adapt more than say an Anthony Joshua can, I actually give him the edge.”
Pick: Fury
24 David Adeleye, British heavyweight
“Heart says Tyson, head says Usyk. I think the fight will be a knockout.”
Pick: Usyk
25 Paulie Malignaggi, former IBF light welterweight champion
“I picked Fury the first time and I lost. But I'm going to pick Usyk. I don't think Fury has it any more. I'm not sure he has it in the same way any more. And it's not a disrespect to Fury. I've always loved Fury. I'm just not sure he can be – he can summon it back any more.”
Pick: Usyk
Final totals: Usyk 13; Fury 12.
