Oleksandr Usyk Finally Names Which Fight Was Tougher Between Anthony Joshua And Tyson Fury

Right now, no one can argue that Oleksandr Usyk isn’t the best heavyweight on the planet.

The Ukrainian southpaw has beaten every man he has faced in the banner division, including challenger Daniel Dubois, two-time world champion Anthony Joshua and the former Lineal and WBC king Tyson Fury, who was unbeaten until he stepped into the ring with Usyk.

That was back in May for the historic undisputed championship and the first ever heavyweight contest for all four major belts.

It saw Usyk come out on top despite being the naturally smaller man who just a few years before was also cleaning up at cruiserweight and becoming undisputed in that division.

He and Fury will once again share the ring in December for their contracted rematch, though only the Ring Magazine, Lineal, WBA, WBO and WBC titles will be on the line after the champion was forced to vacate the IBF for not fulfilling his mandatory duties.

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Speaking to Mail Sport, Usyk was asked how the fight with Fury compared to all his others, including two battles against Joshua, and he had no doubt that it tops them all.

“First place [the hardest fight]. First in rating for difficulty, passion, emotion, first in everything.”

He was then asked how he felt about his mother telling him to retire after the fight.

“My mom tells me that after every fight, she is worried, this is a mum, she is worried, she cries, she is afraid, however there is a way to go. I love her incredibly, this is the closest person to me, I know how much suffering she went through when I was sick or had some problems, how she did not sleep, however I have a mission to complete, I cannot just leave it.”

Should Usyk defend the belts against Fury, he has said there is only one other heavyweight he would be willing to face,

Nobody hit me harder: I fought Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Dillian Whyte but nobody hit me harder than journeyman boxer with only 3 KOs

Derek Chisora has shared the ring with several big punchers.

During the course of an iconic career stretching back to 2007, ‘Del Boy’ has boxed the likes of Tyson Fury, Dillian Whyte, David Price and Oleksandr Usyk.

But none of them hit as hard as journeyman boxer Paul Butlin.

The 41-fight veteran retired with a record of 16-24-1 with only three wins coming by way of knockout.

Yet Chisora insists Butlin had some serious power in his hands.

“You remember this guy, Paul Butlin. He hit me so hard I thought the referee needed to check his gloves,” he told talkSPORT.com.

“I will never forget when he went boom, boom. And I’m like ‘God man, somebody needs to check this guy’s gloves’.

“I went back to the corner and Don [Charles] (Chisora’s former trainer) told me you need to move, you can’t stand there.

“The guy was strong and he hit me with a body shot and I was like ‘Nah, I need to box this guy’.”

Chisora boxed Butlin twice in the paid ranks, winning both bouts via unanimous decision.

Midway through their second fight, Chisora decided to imitate the now infamous scenes from Mike Tyson’s rematch with Evander Holyfield by biting Butlin’s ear.

He wasn’t disqualified from the contest but did recieve a four month suspension and a £2,500 fine from the Southern Area Council for his actions.

Later in his career, Butlin was knocked out by Anthony Joshua before eventually hanging up his gloves in 2016 following a stoppage defeat to Kash Ali.

A video uploaded to YouTube, which has now amassed 1.4million views, shows a livid camerman hurling abuse at Butlin for delivering a letter to him about an outstanding fine which he refused to pay.

Clearly unaware of who he was talking to, the man threatened to ‘punch the f***’ out of Butlin.

But to the ex-boxer’s credit he remained unfazed and replied: “I’m not here to fight you, I’m not a fighter mate.”

He returns to the ring on Saturday night against Joe Joyce in what will be his tenth apperance at London’s O2 Arena.

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Chisora insists it will be his last fight at the iconic 20,000-seater.

However, it won’t be his final outing as a professional.

His domestic dust-up with Joyce marks his 48th fight and Chisora is fully intent on making it to 50 bouts before he even contemplates calls time on his career.

He added: “It doesn’t matter if you or adoctor, a nurse, a fireman or a policeman, people say ‘oh, you should retire now’.

Too easy, don’t be afraid: Oleksandr Usyk warns Tyson Fury ‘don’t be afraid’ as heavyweight champion laughs off ‘too easy’ claims

Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury in May to become the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion in almost 25 years; Fury said in a June interview that he had lost the fight as a result of finding it “too easy” before being knocked down in the ninth round

Oleksandr Usyk warned Tyson Fury not to be “afraid” ahead of their rematch as he laughed off the Brit’s claims that he lost their fight because he found it “too easy”.

Usyk beat Fury in May via a split decision to become the heavyweight division’s first undisputed champion in almost 25 years, ending Fury’s unbeaten record.

Speaking in June, ahead of the rematch which is scheduled for December 21 in Saudi Arabia, Fury insisted that while he thought he won the fight, the only reason Usyk had been able to deliver a late onslaught was that he was “enjoying it too much and messing around”.

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In an exclusive interview with Sky News on Thursday at the Ukrainian embassy in London, at which Usyk was present to see UK vehicles being donated to his country, he responded to Fury’s comments.

He said: “Oh my god, no way! Okay, no problem. The next fight will be easy [for him too].

“For me, my fight will be hard because Tyson Fury is a big man, a good boxer, with a good boxing IQ.

“But if Tyson says for him it will be easy, ok, no problem. I see for Tyson Fury, I see for the eyes of Tyson Fury, it’s not easy. It will be hard, very, very hard.

‘Referee did his job protecting Fury’

Most neutral observers believed Usyk deserved victory after he overcame a spell of Fury dominance to force a ninth-round knockdown, and very nearly a stoppage.

Some felt the referee had unfairly aided Fury by stepping in to deliver a standing count when Usyk was perhaps just a punch away from ending the contest, but the Ukrainian says he has no issue with the officiating.

“For me, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “Every referee, it’s a professional guy. The referee does his job. Maybe my last punch would be dangerous for Tyson Fury. It’s good.

“Tyson has a big family, I have a big family. Listen, we win. Everything is ok. I do not think about the referee after the fight. We win, thank god, all good, everything is ok.

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“A lot of people say, ‘Oh the referee took your knockout win’ and say ‘Referee bad’. I think no, the referee is good. It’s just talking. Blah blah blah.”

‘Fury is like a yeti, it’s hard’

Usyk also reiterated his camp’s claims that he did not suffer a broken jaw during the fight, as Fury continued to claim was the case in his June interview.

The 37-year-old, who will carry a 22-0 record into the rematch, admitted Fury had inflicted damage to various parts of his body as he compared the Brit to a yeti.

“No, not break my jaw,” Usyk said. “Yes, I have a little bit of a problem but I have problems with my fist, my back, my whole body because it’s a hard fight, 47 minutes.

“You see Tyson Fury, he’s like a yeti. It’s hard. My face is good, beautiful.”

Don’t miss the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois IBF heavyweight title clash live on Sky Sports Box Office on September 21

If he loses to Oleksandr Usyk again, Anthony Joshua could hand Tyson Fury world title lifeline  says Roy Jones Jr

Roy Jones Jr has told talkSPORT that Anthony Joshua may end up holding the key to Tyson Fury’s heavyweight return.

The Gypsy King was dethroned of his WBC crown by Oleksandr Usyk in May, and the Ukrainian emerged from their battle as undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO heavyweight world champion.

Usyk has since vacated his IBF belt, but will defend the WBA, WBC and WBO in his rematch with Fury, which is planned for December 21.

Meanwhile, that vacated IBF strap now belongs to Daniel Dubois.

When he beat Usyk’s mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic in June, Dubois claimed the IBF ‘interim’ belt, and so was upgraded to become the full champion after the Ukrainian gave it up.

Dubois will now be defending his IBF heavyweight world title against Joshua on September 21.

“I think Joshua is gonna be the favourite because of his past,” Jones Jr told talkSPORT Drive when asked about that fight.

“He just had a great fight with Francis Ngannou, but Ngannou is not Daniel Dubois.

“So it’s gonna be interesting for a few rounds, but if Joshua goes out and it’s the Joshua we wanna see, I think he’ll be dominant and be victorious.

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“If he takes Dubois lightly though, it could be an upset.”

As Jones Jr rightly pointed out, AJ is indeed the favourite in that fight.

Likewise, Usyk is the favourite to defeat Fury again on December 21.

Asked if he believes Fury will become champion again, Jones Jr replied: “I don’t know because here’s the thing.

“And that’s a 50/50 fight to me. A real pick ’em.”

In this scenario, AJ would be the defending IBF world champion and offering Fury a lifeline to resurrect his career.

Time will tell how things play out in the fascinating heavyweight landscape.