ALEX Krassyuk says that despite their contrasting styles, personalities and approaches to life, only one man can be victorious on May 18 when his fighter, Oleksandr Usyk, and the “Gypsy King”, Tyson Fury, clash in Riyadh.
Billed as “Ring of Fire”, the heat is rising ahead of the undisputed heavyweight title battle for Usyk’s IBF, WBA and WBO belts, alongside Fury’s WBC, Ring Magazine, Lineal status and bragging rights as the verified Baddest Man on the Planet.
“This is an absolutely unique clash of destinies,” the K2 Promotions powerhouse told Boxing News.
“Tyson went a tough way in his life, from no one to the idol. Usyk did the same. Their ways are completely different, like their approaches in life.”
It has taken a lot to get to this stage. Two unbeaten boxers from contrasting walks of life. Usyk travelling the hard road through cruiserweight carnage on the roads of Europe to take on the biggest and the best up in the land of the giants.
Tyson Fury, mocked and maligned as a fumbling fool, awkward and clumsy, down the pecking order behind his more esteemed domestic contemporaries. Stepping up as the underdog, pushing past them all, he has ascended to an unlikely throne.
“But the thing is that only one can be a winner,” added Krassyuk, setting it all up perfectly. “Like Tyson said, the other one will walk home with a d**k in his hand! And this dramatism is so strong that you can’t help loving this fight.”
Krassyuk has already said that the outcome of the contest will be determined by mental fortitude, and Usyk’s monklike discipline both in and out of the ring will help him prevail.
Ruffled by Fury’s pullouts, the Kyiv-based promoter has been busy advocating for his star pupil while handling the likes of Denys Berinchyk (who fights Emanuel Navarrete on the same night as Fury-Usyk), Dmytro Mytrofanov and Vasile Cebotari.
Boxing can be a lonely road. It will all be worth it if Usyk rises to new heights on May 18, above an opponent who, like him, has overcome many obstacles to succeed.