Bernard Hopkins believes that the Ukrainian will defeat the “Gypsy King” ahead of schedule.
Former world boxing champion Bernard Hopkins spoke about the upcoming rematch between the WBA, WBO, WBC and IBO heavyweight title holder Alexander Usykand former champion Tyson Fury.
According to the American, the Ukrainian will defeat the Briton again, and this time he will do it ahead of schedule.
“Can Tyson win in a rematch? No. Yes, Usyk is a small guy, but he has a really big character and talent. I have bet on Fury many times in fights with other heavyweights, but Usyk has calculated him, and the fact that he is smaller will even help him.
I just think that Alexander has such a boxing IQ that Tyson Fury can’t do anything with it. I like Usyk, he’ll probably win early at the end of the fight, but not because of one punch, the referee will just take pity on Fury and stop the fight,” Hopkins told Fight Hub TV.
The Usyk-Fury rematch will take place on December 21 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia). All the titles that the Ukrainian boxer holds will be at stake.
Unlike the first fight, this time the title of absolute world champion will not be at stake, since Alexander renounced the IBF title. Now it is in the hands of Daniel Dubois, who has already managed to defend it by knocking out Anthony Joshua.
Earlier it was reported that Usyk and Fury had their first battle of eyes before the rematch.
Recall that on the night of May 19, 2024, Usyk won by split decision over Fury in a fight for the title of absolute world heavyweight champion. At the end of the ninth round, Alexander knocked his opponent down.
Thus, Alexander defended the WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF belts, and also took the WBC title from the “Gypsy King”. Usyk became the first absolute world champion in the heavyweight division in the 21st century.
Before that, the last “absolute” heavyweight champion was Lennox Lewis, who won this status in 1999, when he defeated Evander Holyfield. At that time, the WBA, WBC and IBF titles were at stake. The WBO belt was recognized as equal in 2007, so Usyk became the first “absolute” heavyweight champion in history with four main titles.