Promoter Eddie Hearn believes odds have shifted in the upcoming undisputed fight between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
The two unbeaten beltholders are scheduled to collide on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
A few months ago, Fury stepped in the ring with MMA veteran Francis Ngannou in what seemed to be a complete mismatch on paper.
The non-title crossover bout became a very competitive fight, with Ngannou knocking down Fury in the third round, cutting his forehead with an uppercut, and coming close to a stunning upset when the ten round contest came to an end. Fury was able to secure a razor-close ten round split decision win.
Hearn is not sure, after that lackluster performance, where Fury’s level falls from a physical and mental standpoint – but he still believes Fury is the favorite to win the bout. But, he’s giving Usyk a much better chance at victory.
“I really believed he was quite a strong favorite pre-Ngannou,” Hearn said of Fury to MMA Fighting. “We don’t really know physically where he’s at. I mean, he’s lucky that Usyk’s not a puncher, he’s lucky Usyk’s a much smaller man. Because I think against a bigger guy, against a puncher, against a guy that can wrestle him on the inside, I think his confidence really wouldn’t be there in a fight like that.
“So I do think Fury will win the fight, but you certainly can’t rule out Usyk, and we just don’t know where [Fury is] at physically or mentally after a fight like that [Ngannou performance]. He didn’t look himself in that fight, but perhaps he was just ill prepared.”
Usyk saw action in August, when he knocked out mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois in Poland.