Boxing legend backs Usyk to beat Tyson Fury 

Former heavyweight champion, Hasim Rahman, has given his prediction ahead of a possible clash between Tyson Fury and Olesandr Usyk.

Fury and Usyk looked all set to meet in April after a 70/30 split was agreed over social media but negotiations then collapsed, reportedly over rematch financials.

The fight would have crowned the first undisputed heavyweight king since Lennox Lewis – the man Rahman famously defeated to become champion.

Rahman caused one of the biggest upsets in boxing history when he knocked Lewis out in the fifth round of their fight billed as “Thunder in Africa”. He would go onto lose the belts in an immediate rematch.

Speaking to FightHype, ‘The Rock’ Rahman says he’s backing another underdog in boxing’s blue-ribbon division, picking Usyk to get the knockout against Fury, should the two ever meet.

“I think Usyk can beat him, I think Tyson Fury’s biggest advantage is that most heavyweights are really slow and he’s used to boxing against them.

If you go against a boxer, kind of like Steve Cunningham, bad things can happen. I think Usyk is in his prime, I think he can beat Tyson Fury.

Size would be an advantage with most heavyweights who stand in front of you, so Tyson can lean on and grab. But Usyk is not that type of boxer, he’s gonna make him do little spurts of boxing, make him do that the whole twelve rounds.

And I think Tyson walking round almost 300 pounds gonna gas out. [He’ll] make him get exhausted and then probably knock him out.”

Rahman may not have long to wait to see if his prediction comes true, with Fury’s promoter confirming they are in talks with representatives from Saudi Arabia for their side of a four-man tournament which would also see Deontay Wilder face Anthony Joshua on the same night.