"He will not win." The boxing legend made an unequivocal prediction for the Usyk-Fury fight

Former absolute light heavyweight boxing world champion Roy Jones Jr. has once again expressed confidence that WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) will not defeat WBC champion Tyson Fury (34)-0-1, 24 KOs if he cannot control the pace of the fight. The 55-year-old Jones made this unequivocal prediction on the talkSPORT Boxing YouTube channel.

According to the American, who is a fan of Kremlin dictator Vladimir Putin and in September 2015 begged for Russian citizenship, Oleksandr Usyk is a guy who is technically sound, but he's not very explosive.

"If he was sharper, he could be a problem for Tyson. In fights with big guys, you need to pick up the pace, otherwise they won't be afraid of you. If he doesn't figure out how to do that before the fight, he won't beat Tyson Fury. It doesn't matter who says what on the air. Tyson didn't take Francis Ngannou seriously, and it's going to be different with Usyk," said Roy Jones Jr.

A few days ago, Yuri Arbachakov, the Russian champion of the USSR, Europe and the world among amateur boxers, expressed confidence that if Usyk just boxed like an amateur, the judges would not give him a points victory.

Initially, the Usyk-Fury fight was scheduled for February 17, but Fury suffered a serious cut on February 2 during training. Because of this, the fight was officially postponed to the spring of 2024.

Turki Al al-Sheikh, head of Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Entertainment, said the May 18 show will go ahead anyway. The organizer of the boxing night in Riyadh has come up with a rule that will prevent the fight from being disrupted again.

In addition, Turki Al Al-Sheikh noted that either Usyk or Tyson will face a $10 million fine if either of them refuses to perform.

Recently, the famous British heavyweight Dereck Chisora (34-14, 23 KOs) expressed confidence that the Ukrainian would win this fight, using a very specific tactic.

In early March, it became known that the World Boxing Council (WBC) supported the initiative that the winner of Fury-Usyk should fight Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs). At the same time, the organization confirmed that it had authorized two fights between the British and Ukrainian for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion.

Before that, Tyson promised to beat Usyk easily, and also mentioned the war in Ukraine, and Oleksandr told what he would do if the Briton refused to enter the ring on May 18.

Earlier, two moles were found in Fury's team, and it also became known that the former Russian champion would return to the fight in Saudi Arabia. In turn, British bookmakers changed their quotes for the fight and stopped considering their compatriot a favorite.

It is worth noting that former world champion Carl Froch, a middleweight champion, questioned the holding of the Usyk-Fury fight.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, promoter Oleksandr Krasiuk spoke about the problem with holding the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury on May 18. The Ukrainian boxer himself named the main strength of the opponent.

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