Alexander Krassyuk, promoter for WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, says his boxer was very nervous as he watched Tyson Fury’s crossover boxing match with Francis Ngannou.
Last month, Usyk was ringside in Saudi Arabia and watched Fury pull out a razor-close ten round split decision over Ngannou.
The scores were 96-93, 95-94 for Fury, while a third judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou.
During the fight, Fury was shockingly dropped in the third round. He was cut on the forehead from an uppercut, and his left eye was badly bruised.
The fight was Usyk was penciled in for December 23 in Saudi Arabia.
But, because Fury took more punishment than expected in the contest, the fight with Usyk was pushed back to early 2024.
While some observers may disagree, Krassyuk expects the Fury-Usyk to be a much bigger event.
Usyk was extremely relieved when Fury was able to pull out a close decision win, because a loss would have damaged the overall magnitude of the undisputed fight.
“Can you imagine [if he lost]? Usyk was sweating throughout the fight because there was a chance for Tyson to lose. If he lost, who would watch this fight [Fury vs Usyk]? This [Ngannou] fight didn’t seem to be a big success in the US. A couple of hours ago, I saw the reports from the pay-per-views in the US,” Krassyuk told Daily Mail’s ‘The Hook’ podcast.
“So this was the fight that did not bring that much attention. But I think it’s going to be completely different when he fights Usyk. Usyk has always been confident in what he does. Otherwise, there is no space for him in boxing. I mean, he became the undisputed cruiserweight and he went to run for the undisputed heavyweight race. And well, that’s where he is now and he has just one belt left.”