It is finally happening. On February 17th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, WBC and lineal world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will square off against the unified IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
This battle between undefeated heavyweight champions has great historical significance. For starters, the winner will become the first undisputed world heavyweight champion during the modern 4 belt era, and more importantly, the winner will produce the first undisputed world heavyweight champion since the great Lennox Lewis last held that distinction just shy of 24 years ago.
Lennox earned that distinction when he beat Evander Holyfield back in November 1999, and even way back then, his undisputed championship reign was short lived, because the WBA stripped Lennox a few months later when he defended against the universally recognized #1 contender of the time, Michael Grant, which was the best fight that could be made at that point. But the WBA wanted Lewis to fight John Ruiz, whose big claim to fame back then was the fact he was stopped in a mere 19 seconds by David Tua.
Lennox was the last to do it, and prior to this nearly 24 year long horrendous gap, the longest previous gap without an undisputed world heavyweight champion was 10 years; Leon Spinks held the distinction when he scored the upset Muhammad Ali in 1978, and Iron Mike Tyson earned the distinction 10 years later in 1988 when he stopped Michael Spinks in round 1 to earn a valid claim to the lineage to go along with the 3 major alphabet titles back in his day. The historical importance of the Fury vs Usyk showdown simply cannot be understated in terms of historical significance.
So who will make boxing history and win the upcoming battle between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed world heavyweight championship? Based on the specific clash of styles, the key dynamic at play would seemingly favor Fury, despite the fact that Usyk is a better all around talent with superior skills and athletic ability.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide a quick preview of the upcoming showdown for undisputed heavyweight supremacy between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, with a quick breakdown on why Fury will win. Please watch and enjoy the video for one man’s opinion. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).