Krassyuk: «Joshua Was a More Convenient Opponent for Usyk»

On the night of May 19 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a fight took place between Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) and Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) for the undisputed heavyweight championship (over 90.7 kg). The bout went all 12 rounds and ended with a split decision victory for the Ukrainian.

Usyk's promoter and CBDO of Ready To Fight, Alexander Krassyuk, stated that Fury was a more challenging opponent for his client than Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).

«I think Tyson gave Usyk a tougher fight. Joshua was a more convenient opponent. He has a classic style. And this style is predictable. Fury has long arms, he constantly keeps his chin tucked in, and that makes it difficult. Before you can land a punch, you have to do a tremendous amount of work.

This is the science of boxing. You need to find the key, so you have to use all levels, move side to side, and then you can throw a punch. Therefore, you need to spend much more energy to land a single punch than in a classic fight,» said Krassyuk.

Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua have faced each other twice in the ring. In September 2021, Usyk won by unanimous decision, and in August 2022, he won by split decision.