Boxing promoter before million-dollar fight
Usyk will “break” Fury – mentally, then physically
By Martin Armbruster
May 8, 2024, 6:02 p.m
On May 18th, the world championship belts of all major boxing associations will be at stake, with the search for the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk meet in Saudi Arabia and there is a lot of money at stake. And about who loses for the first time.
A week and a half before the long-awaited showdown between unbeaten heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, there is unshakable courage to win in the Ukrainian’s camp. Usyk promoter Alexander Krassyuk predicts Fury will have a rude awakening on May 18th in Riyadh – and compares his protégé with one of the Klitschkos.
“Oleksandr Usyk will break Tyson Fury. First mentally, then physically – and then he will finish him,” said Krassyuk in an exclusive interview with sport.de. The promoter is not worried about a possibly dubious point decision to the detriment of Usyk, but rather expects his protégé to win early.
The way Usyk fights “leaves his opponents without self-confidence. First he eats their heart, then their soul, and then the opponent has nothing left to fight with because the stamina is weak. Fury has never handled such speed So he will give up rather than go the distance.”
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The fact that southpaw Usyk (1.90 meters / around 100 kilograms) climbs into the ring on May 18th in the Kindom Arena in Riyadh with considerable physical disadvantages against Fury (2.06 meters / 120 kilograms), who boxes in a normal position, leaves Krassyuk cold . “Tyson has advantages in size, reach and weight. Period. Usyk has advantages in speed, boxing IQ and technique.”
Fury is undefeated in 34 fights, Usyk in 21 fights
The 37-year-old WBA/WBO/IBF champion’s biggest pound is “the heart – an indomitable heart. He reminds me of Vitali Klitschko. They are the same characters: ‘When I’m healthy, there’s no one in the world who who can beat me.’ That’s his mindset. He doesn’t train that, that’s his attitude to life.”
A big difference to WBC world champion Fury is Usyk’s discipline. “There’s an old saying in sports: Discipline beats class. Usyk is a master of discipline. Tyson – I don’t know, but we can draw some conclusions from the past,” Krassyuk alluded to Fury’s notorious shape and weight fluctuations. The last time the Englishman “looked really fit” was in the first fight against Deontay Wilder (2018, editor’s note). That will make a big difference – especially in the final laps.”
The promoter of the “K2” agency, which was once founded by the Klitschko brothers, also commented on the fighters’ stock exchanges. “Something like that,” Krassyuk replied with a smile when asked whether Fury and Usyk were making more than $100 million a head in Saudi Arabia. “We are talking about a historic event. The protagonists of this event must be treated accordingly. The exchanges they receive should reflect the impact of the struggle. That is what is happening.”
In the duel between Fury, who is unbeaten in 34 fights, and Usyk – undefeated in 21 professional fights – the world championship belts of all major world associations are at stake. The winner will be crowned the first undisputed champion of all boxing classes since Lennox Lewis a quarter of a century ago.
“Usyk has already become the icon of Ukraine”
For him, the fight in Riyadh is in line with the big fights of boxing icon Muhammad Ali, said Krassyuk. His “Rumble in the Jungle” in 1974 (in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo) against George Foreman and the “Thrilla in Manila” in 1975 with Joe Frazier (in the Philippines) were also not in the USA, but to “others, for that Boxing took place in more unusual places. The way the Saudi organizers led by mastermind Turki Al-Sheik “treat boxing – you can hardly find a parallel in the past.”
The absolutist-ruled kingdom on the Persian Gulf has long been on the verge of replacing Las Vegas as the epicenter of heavyweight boxing and, thanks to its almost inexhaustible “entertainment” sovereign wealth fund, is staging dozens of major events. The superstars Fury and Anthony Joshua last fought in Riyadh, Usyk’s revenge against Joshua in 2022 took place in Jeddah.
Krassyuk also emphasized how important Usyk is for Ukraine, which has been shaken by Russia’s war of terror. “Usyk has already become the icon of Ukraine. He is the symbol of Ukraine, an absolute national hero,” he said: “I remember when he boxed against Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois (2023. ed.): I know how many soldiers on the front lines, dug in the ground and under fire, watched this live on their smartphones. Words cannot describe these feelings, the inspiration, the motivation that Usyk gives to Ukraine as a nation .His participation in the biggest event of the century inspires people, makes them feel stronger, bigger.”
The Crimean-born boxing champion’s contribution “to the future victory of Ukraine” was eminent, emphasized Krassyuk: “I’m not talking about the money, the millions that he donates. His contribution as a personality. He is now using the world stage to “To draw as much attention to his homeland as possible. That’s why Usyk is an icon.”