Oleksandr Usyk Taking Anthony Joshua Punch is a Warning to Tyson Fury

Usyk may only have fought five times as a heavyweight, but he’s already proved his chin..

Tyson Fury firmly believes that he will have a major advantage over former cruiserweight Oleksandr Usyk when the pair meet on the 18th of May for the undisputed world championship – with the Brit suggesting that his opponent will struggle to deal with the power of a fully-fledged heavyweight.

“Size is what really matters, and we have weight divisions for a reason,” claimed ‘The Gypsy King’ in a press conference last month, per BBC Sport. “You can beat the average big ones, but you can’t beat the elite big ones.”

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While there is some truth to Fury’s point, Usyk has defeated former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua twice – and it would be a stretch to call the Londoner “average”! The Ukrainian comfortably outpointed ‘AJ’ both times they shared the ring and certainly proved the quality of his chin when he was caught with a massive right hand from Joshua in the 10th round of their first meeting. As the footage below shows, the 37-year-old brushed off the huge blow in mere seconds and continued his march towards victory.

Oleksandr Usyk Proved his Chin After Being Caught Flush by Anthony Joshua in September 2021

The world champion was hardly troubled by the huge blow

Fury v Usyk will be the first time all four major world heavyweight titles have been on the line in the modern era. The Morecambe fighter may believe that his size and reach advantage will allow him to take home all the gold, but former cruiserweight world champion – and Usyk opponent – Tony Bellew disagrees.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the Liverpudlian admitted that Usyk was the only opponent he ever faced in h

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is professional career that he felt “out of his depth” against. Bellew also highlighted the ability of ‘The Cat’ to perform under pressure, pointing out: “He’s gone to every single champion’s backyard and their patch and beat them up! He didn’t even take a punch against Murat Gassiev.” In fact, if it wasn’t for Fury’s seven-inch reach advantage, Bellew wouldn’t give his fellow countryman much chance of victory at all.

The showdown between Fury and Usyk in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is one of the most highly-anticipated in modern boxing history. Neither man has ever lost a professional contest – and they won’t be planning on that fact changing next weekend.

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Fury has scored stoppage victories in 24 of his 34 wins and undoubtedly has the power to end the contest at a moment’s notice. However, Usyk has shown himself to be a top-class operator during his five-fight stint at heavyweight and will be intent upon proving the doubters – including Fury – wrong once again.