Tyson Fury is an unknown entity going into his huge clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
That is according to rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma, who has sparred the ‘Gypsy King’ in recent weeks, and has been declared as the future of the division by the WBC champion.
Itauma believes the British heavyweight goes into the undisputed title fight as the favourite to be the first man to hold all the straps in the division since Lennox Lewis in 1999.
Itauma told talkSPORT Drive: “Obviously I was in Tyson’s camp, he was very Marmite in sparring – some days he’d do good but in some he’d been unbelievable.
“It honestly depends on what version of Fury turn up. If the one sparring on good days turns up he will have a very easy night with Usyk.
“As I say he’s very Marmite, he could have a bad day in sparring and I feel like the Francis Ngannou fight was a very bad day.”
He went on to compare Fury’s circumstances when fighting Ngannou, in comparison to Anthony Joshua’s dominant KO win earlier in March.
He continued: “He [Fury] gave me loads of advice. Currently, I think he is No.1. There are so many factors people don’t take into account.
“Joshua had something to learn off [before fighting Ngannou in October 2023], Fury never did. Fury was the first person to do that crossover.
“It was great entertainment. Whether he took it seriously is another thing.”
Fury struggled in his last outing, being knocked down by the ex-UFC champion before rallying to a narrow points win.
Many suggested this decreased his chances of beating Uysk, particularly since Joshua went on to impress in his win over Ngannou.
The WBC champion looks in much better shape, having made a remarkable transformation since facing Ngannou.
His training footage has also followed a ‘marmite’ pattern with fans first suggesting he looked ‘awful’ in a fitness drill.
But the online response has since been much improved as he dazzled on the pads in new footage with his father John Fury.
