Deontay Wilder Values Fury's Duel Versus Usyk Will Run Balanced

Heavyweight boxers Tyson Fury (left) and Oleksandr Usyk (right) are scheduled for a February 2024 duel (Instagram/@tysonfury).

JAKARTA Former heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder sees the fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk going to be very balanced.

Fury and Usyk are scheduled to enter the ring on February 17, 2024, in Saudi Arabia. Both will try to unite all heavyweight division title belts, namely WBC, IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO.

"It's a tanju fight. Anything can happen," said the WBC heavyweight title ruler from 2015 to 2020, as reported by Boxing Scene.

The battle between Fury and Usyk was one of the struggles he had been waiting for. Fury will defend the WBC title he holds while trying to win Usyk's three belts.

The duel between the two is likely to result in an undisputed world champion since Lennox Lewis did so in 1999.

Wilder said that Fury was favored because he was much higher physically. However, these advantages cannot be fully used as a basis.

"People see Fury's physique as a big advantage, but that doesn't mean anything. Usyk is lower, while Fury is so tall that it will be difficult to reach his opponent," he said.

Usyk won the heavyweight title after defeating Anthony Joshua in September 2021. He then defended the title in their rematch a year later.

The title remains safe in his hands after defeating Daniel Dubois in August 2023. It was a victory that kept the record unbeaten in 21 fights.

Meanwhile, Fury got a WBC title after stopping Wilder in February 2020. He then won again in their rematch and managed to defend him in two games after that last year, each against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.

However, Fury came out against Usyk for poor capital as a result of his controversial win against former UFC class champion Francis Ngannou, in October 2023.

In that duel, Fury was made to fall in the third round. Therefore, many think Ngannou should be more worthy of being the winner.