Tyson Fury reveals prediction for Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk fight

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Tyson Fury views Anthony Joshua’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk as “50-50” but has predicted a “tough night” for his British heavyweight rival should the world championship contest go the distance on Saturday night.

Joshua puts his IBF, WBA and WBO titles on the line against the undefeated Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Fury believes the defending champion will come out fast on his biggest fight on home soil in almost three years.

But the ‘Gypsy King’ has predicted that former undisputed cruiserweight king Usyk will grow stronger the longer the fight goes on after expressing doubts over Joshua’s stamina and tactics.

Fury, who defends his WBC title against Deontay Wilder on 9 November, wants Joshua to retains his belts so that an all-British heavyweight unification bout can be finally agreed for next year, but warned that AJ

“I expect AJ to come out trying to box a bit more because of this new way he boxes now and uses his jab,” Fury told BoxingScene.com.

“And he knows he doesn’t have the stamina to take a fight to somebody under sustained pressure and keep that up, because he gasses after about three rounds and then he needs to take three or four rounds off.

“He won’t be able to do that against Usyk because Usyk will be on him all the time, making him fight. So I expect it to be awkward, maybe a bit of a chess match for a few rounds.

“I expect AJ to run out of ideas. If he doesn’t land on him early and get him out of there with big punches, then I see it being a tough night for AJ and maybe even a stoppage loss.”

“I’m not a betting man but I think it’s a real pick ‘em fight. Whoever you’d like to pick on the night maybe would win.

“I can make a lot of reasons why AJ would lose this fight and Usyk would win. One is he’s a big southpaw, he’s awkward and a slick boxer. I think he punches harder than people give him credit for.

“You’ve just got to keep hitting the target and and sooner or later, the big bodybuilder [Joshua] will fall apart at the seams - like an old, cheap cushion

“He runs out of ideas quite quickly as well, Joshua. He’s a one-trick pony.”

The undefeated Fury also responded to Joshua’s claim that a “focused” Wilder will beat him in the pair’s third meeting in two weeks’ time.

“You know, I really don’t make much of it,” Fury added. “I think he’s got more on his plate than thinking about what I’m gonna do in my fight.

“He’s got to win his own fight and we’ll see what happens with his fight on Saturday, because I’m not convinced that he is gonna win, either.

“If he lost on Saturday, I’d be pretty disappointed. But everything happens for a reason. And when one door shuts, another door opens.”