Ricky Hatton makes Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk prediction as anticipation builds
Former unified light-welterweight world champion Ricky Hatton believes Tyson Fury should have few problems beating Oleksandr Usyk if the pair do meet inside the ring.
Boxing fans are on tenterhooks as momentum builds towards a heavyweight unification clash between WBC champion Fury (33-0-1) and Usyk (20-0), who holds every other major belt in the division. But while the Ukrainian may hold a significant advantage in the belt stakes, Hatton is confident 'The Gypsy King' rules in every domain that will count inside the ring.
“You can't dismiss Usyk, you know," the former two-weight world champion told Mega Casino. "Olympic gold medallist, cruiserweight world champion, heavyweight world champion, you know what I mean? And I don't want to write him off, I can't write him off because obviously he is so talented and he might just have the style to beat Tyson.
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"Personally, I don't think so. I think Tyson is just so versatile and so much better in every area. He can fight southpaw, he can fight orthodox, he can stand tall, he can fight at close quarters, do you know what I mean? He has a wonderful defence, he has hand speed, he switches hits."
Each of those traits have been on full display in Fury's recent fight history, finishing Deontay Wilder in back-to-back meetings before stopping both Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in 2022. But former cruiserweight king Usyk, 35 , has proved he's no pushover since making the step up to heavyweight, most recently scoring back-to-back decision wins over Anthony Joshua.
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'The Cat'—who stands 6'3" tall—was well able to contend against Joshua despite a three-inch height disadvantage. However, Fury would double that deficit at 6'9", which makes the result all but a foregone conclusion in Hatton's eyes.
"He's got speed and movement and boxing ability," added 'The Hitman'. "He's everything. He's got everything Usyk has got and maybe a little bit more, and he's bigger and he's taller and he's got the reach. For that reason it’s very hard to see anything other than a Tyson win.
"But I think all of us, if you turn around—if you put your hand on your heart and said 'Usyk’s got no chance'—I don't think we could say he's got no chance, but you'd have to favour Tyson, wouldn't you?”
While Usyk's superior fight intellect was enough to beat Chisora in 2020 and overcome 'AJ' on two occasions, there's little guarantee the same tactics would work on one with Fury's intellect. Someone's '0 has to go' as the two appear to be moving closer to settling on terms in what promises to be one of the greatest heavyweight matchups this generation has seen.
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