OTTO WALLIN has slashed Oleksandr Usyk’s chances of beating Tyson Fury – but offered his advice on how to best fight the Gypsy King.
Wallin took Fury to the brink of defeat in 2019 – causing him 47 stitches – and only narrowly missing out on a technical knockout.
But the British heavyweight hero showed his class as he fought on to a points victory with blood streaming into his eyes and face.
Fury has since won and defended the WBC title, putting him in line for a historic unification bout against Usyk.
The Ukrainian is set to become the first southpaw since Wallin to face Fury and has received some words of wisdom.
Wallin told SunSport: “Fury is big, he has a long reach so Usyk needs to take that away, he needs to stay on him, be aggressive and hit that body.
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“Fury has a big body and good upper movement so Usyk has to hit the body, and when he gets inside he must be careful.
“He can’t let Fury tie him up, lean on him, he was doing that to me and it took some energy out of me.
“So I think for Usyk to be successful he needs to use his angles like he does, use his jab and hit Fury’s body a lot.”
Fury, 34, and Usyk, 35, are closing in on a deal to finalise the first four-belt undisputed title decider in heavyweight history.
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And Wallin, who returns on Friday against Mexico’s Helaman Olguin, expects the big man to come out on top.
He predicted: “I think Usyk is a really good fighter and he proved that against Joshua he is big enough for the division.
“I thought he was going to be too small for Joshua but he did a really good job.
“But, at the same time Fury is the favourite for me. He’s a big guy, a really good boxer who can be aggressive too.
“I think Fury is a smart fighter, he’s confident and he has the tools to beat Usyk, I think on points.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk