Atlas: "You Will Be Able to Walk Down the Street and Know Who the Champion Is"

American coach Teddy Atlas discussed the significance of the upcoming fight for the absolute world heavyweight championship (over 90.7 kg) between titleholder Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) and WBC champion Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs).

"I would just say or ask one question to all of us: When was the last time in our sport that there was one 'Baddest Man on the Planet,' one single world champion in the heavyweight division? Wherever you went, people knew who it was. Instead of five, six, seven different names. When was the last time? It's been a long time, and we are going to have that again. Fury and Usyk on May 18th in Saudi Arabia. That's all you need to know.

This isn't a niche sport just because it happens in Saudi Arabia. It goes out of Saudi Arabia and spreads everywhere. This sport is spreading around the world, and when famous heavyweights fight—everyone in the world becomes reconnected with boxing. You will be able to walk down the street and know who the heavyweight champion of the world is," said Atlas.

The fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will take place on May 18th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.