Fury claims will fuel the fire of Usyk

If Tyson Fury really believes what he says, he is in for a rude awakening against Oleksandr Usyk.

Put it this way, Usyk has no need to go looking for inspiration after Fury’s claim that he is not big enough to beat an elite heavyweight.

Usyk is arguably wondering which elite heavyweight Fury is talking about. Is Fury (above) in that class of fighter? He’s a good fighter, remarkable in many ways given his dimensions, but his record does not suggest anything more than that.

I’ve been watching these big guys for 50 years. For a bloke standing 6ft 9ins he is a phenomenal mover and coordinated. But he does not have a great chin, and he is certainly not the second coming.

There has not been the spread of talent in the division that we have had in the past. That is not Fury’s fault, of course. But apart from Vladimir Klitschko, which was the performance of his career, he has not faced a great fighter.

Deontay Wilder was a formidable puncher but not a great fighter. And the more you see of Fury you have to worry. Against Francis Ngannou, a raw novice, he looked diminished. We all get old. It is nine years since he beat Klitschko. Nothing lasts for ever.

Fury is talking about 10 more fights. I don’t believe that is in his compass for one minute. As the great Marvin Hagler used to say, it’s hard to do the work when you sleep in silk pyjamas.

Having seen how easily Anthony Joshua dealt with Ngannou compared to Fury, the Usyk engagement is much closer now.

Usyk has already beaten a guy physically bigger than him. Joshua is a man-mountain, far more explosive than Fury. And he is always in shape.

Usyk dealt with him twice. Joshua was improved in the second fight but still could not find a way to win.

Usyk might not have the physical profile of a modern heavyweight, but he is an old school fighter, clever, smart. If you can’t hit them hard enough you hit them often enough. It has the same effect.

Usyk is the fighter that has aged well, not Fury. Fury can talk the teeth out of a saw.

But after that Ngannou performance there are questions he must answer. And he can only do that inside the ropes.