Frank Warren has insisted Tyson Fury would be wise to target what he perceives to be Oleksandr Usyk‘s greatest weakness when the pair meet inside the ring.
For the first time since Lennox Lewis more than two decades ago, an undisputed king of the heavyweight division could be crowned in Riyadh next month.
Usyk and Fury had originally been scheduled to face off in February before the Gypsy King sustained a serious cut in sparring leading to the bout being moved to May 18.
As part of the deal to reschedule the fight, Turki Alalshikh revealed that both fighters had agreed to forfeit $10m (£8m) if they were forced to pull out.
Speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated showdown, Warren insisted he has identified a weakness in the former undisputed cruiserweight champion’s game which he believes Fury will use it to his advantage on fight night.
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Frank Warren insisted Tyson Fury will expose Oleksandr Usyk’s main weakness in their clash next month
The showdown in Saudi Arabia is set to crown the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis
The Ukrainian is undefeated in his 21-fight professional career with 14 wins via knockout
‘One thing about Tyson, if he senses a crack or sees any weakness, he’s the biggest exploiter of it and that’s why it’s going to be such an exciting fight.’ Warren told Sky Sports.
‘On the other hand, Usyk might feel from the [Francis] Ngannou fight there are some things that he can exploit and I’m sure he will. He’s a competitor.
‘He’s a competitor from amateur days right up until the present day. He’s done everything that’s been asked of him.
‘His Achilles’ heel, as I’ve said, and I’m surprised the so-called experts never picked up on it, has always been his body.
‘Daniel Dubois, that’s what he was trained for, to go and exploit that and he nearly pulled it off.’
Back in August, Usyk put his heavyweight titles on the line against British prospect Dubois in front of a partisan crowd in Wroclaw, Poland.
For much of the contest, the Ukrainian utilised his superb technical acumen to build up a sizeable lead on the judges’ scorecards before scoring a KO finish in the ninth round.
However, the win was marred in controversy after Dubois sent the 37-year-old crashing to the canvas in the fifth with a shot that was contentiously ruled by the referee to have been a low blow.
Warren claimed Usyk has struggled with body shots in the past, a tendency he believes Fury will exploit
The Ukrainian was dropped by a shot that was controversially ruled low in his win over Daniel Dubois in August
Warren added that Usyk will also likely target Fury’s weakness by looking to reopen the cut above his right eye that caused the fight to be delayed in the first place.
‘Well, I would. Of course he will [try to exploit the cut].’ Warren continued.
‘He had a worse cut against [Otto] Wallin. Tyson had a dreadful cut in that fight and won the fight convincingly with a bad cut, a real bad cut.
‘He’s got plan A, plan B and a plan C and more importantly, he’s got a big heart.’
