Former world champion Barry McGuigan believes Tyson Fury could be in for a very "rude awakening" if he collides with Oleksandr Usyk in a high stakes unification.
Usyk became the undisputed world champion at cruiserweight in 2018. He officially made his move to the heavyweight division the following year.
In 2021, he outboxed Anthony Joshua over twelve rounds to capture the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA heavyweight titles.
A rematch took place this past August, with Usyk once again securing a twelve round decision to walk away with the belts.
Fury, the WBC's heavyweight champion, was in action earlier this month, when he battered and stopped Derek Chisora in their trilogy fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Now the stage is set for Usyk and Fury to collide in the early months of 2023. The contest will likely land in the Middle East.
Fury will have a significant size advantage, but McGuigan feels the speed and talents of Usyk could play a major role in the contest.
"Fury relies on his size and intimidation. But Usyk does not scare easily. The way he stared down Fury at the Chisora fight told us that. Usyk was too good for Joshua, who improved considerably in the second fight," McGuigan told The Mirror.
"Joshua is a decent attacking fighter too, better than Fury on the front foot. Fury is essentially a boxer-fighter. He rarely comes forward until he has to. Speed is the issue. Usyk is not only a southpaw who moves brilliantly and takes a shot, he has epic speed. I think this is a much tougher fight for Fury than he thinks it is. And, like Joshua, he could be in for a rude awakening.”
