The heavyweight showdown between Alexander Usyk and Tyson Fury takes place in Riyadh. Expert Bernd Bönte has a favorite
Long-time Klitschko manager and boxing expert Bernd Bönte believes the Ukrainian is the favorite in the eagerly awaited heavyweight unification fight between Tyson Fury (35) and Alexander Usyk (37). “In my opinion, Usyk is mentally stronger. I know him personally and have rarely seen such a cool guy. Fury’s ballyhoo doesn’t bother him at all,” said Bönte in an interview with SID ahead of the fight on Saturday evening (DAZN) in Riyadh.
Usyk is not only fighting to unify all the world championship belts, but also “for his Ukrainian homeland. That is his strongest motivation. He is boxing for a country torn apart by war. He sees himself as an ambassador for his homeland on a unique global platform,” said Bönte, who will be accompanying the fight on the microphone for DAZN.
Usyk challenges Fury
WBA, WBO and IBF champion Usyk (21 fights, 21 wins) wants to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999. At that time, the holder of the WBA, WBC and IBF belts was considered undisputed. WBC world champion Fury (35 fights, 34 wins, one draw), who had to postpone the fight originally scheduled for February 17 due to a cut above his right eye suffered in training, is 15 centimeters taller than Usyk – but this is not a decisive factor for Bönte.
“Usyk is better in many areas. His excellent footwork, the speed, variation and precision of his shots are unique. He’s someone I’ve never seen before in the way he boxes and fights,” said Bönte, who managed the Klitschko brothers Wladimir and Vitali from 2000 to 2006 and later marketed them worldwide as Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group GmbH.
