Roy Jones Jr. famously moved up from light heavyweight to heavyweight in 2003, conceded 33 pounds to fight John Ruiz, and still scored a unanimous decision victory to become a titleholder in the sport’s glamor division.
In the fight for undisputed heavyweight supremacy on May 18 between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, the matchup between titans will feature a serious size discrepancy.
Usyk will concede six inches in height to the 6-foot-9 Fury, seven inches in reach, and perhaps a nearly 50-pound weight disadvantage.
The Hall of Fame fighter turned promoter, trainer, and analyst Jones Jr. weighed in on how he sees the fight unfolding.
“I like both guys. It's a tough fight to call. If Tyson Fury comes out and is not hungry like he was against [Francis] Ngannou, then Usyk will definitely beat him. But if he's hungry, a good big man usually beats a good small man,” said Jones Jr. in an interview with BoxingScene.com.
“He’s not too small for Fury. When you’re very explosive, it makes no difference what size you are. Explosiveness takes out anybody. Usyk is good and powerful, but he's not explosive.”
During the interview, Jones pointed to his heart area and said "this, the want, is what's going to decide the fight -- who wants it more?”
The fight was originally supposed to take place Feb. 17 but Fury was forced to pull out due to a cut over his eye that he suffered during sparring.
Brouhaha ensued from Usyk’s team around the incident, and they went as far as alleging that Fury caused a cut that required 11 stitches on purpose to delay the fight.
“I don’t think he would purposely cause a cut to back out of a fight. I don't think that’s the case,” said Jones. “You don’t plan to get cut in training. But anytime something like this happens, it’s going to be drama. I do understand the Usyk side and point of view but Tyson Fury has never ducked anybody, so why would he start now?”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
