TYSON FURY faces being DISQUALIFIED against Oleksandr Usyk, according to his toughest opponent of all time.

Fury and Usyk square off in the heavyweight division’s first ever four-belt unification bout on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

But Usyk, 37, will not be the first ex-cruiserweight champion Fury, 36, has shared the ring with.

In 2013 in New York, in his American debut, the Gypsy King took on then-heavyweight newbie Steve Cunningham.

Cunningham famously floored Fury and drew up an early lead before being worn down and taken out in round seven.

Now the American is tipping Usyk to do what he couldn’t and become the first to defeat Fury.

Cunningham, 47, told World Boxing News: “I think Usyk wins by decision against Fury. Either that or Fury gets disqualified.

“Fury’s going to have to lean and lay all over Usyk to tire him down as he does usually.

“I think the referee will be alerted to this before the fight [by team Usyk] and Fury will lose points.”

Fury has admitted in the past how Cunningham was the trickiest customer has came across in his career.

He told Joe Rogan in 2018: “Believe it or not, this is gonna sound strange – Cunningham was the hardest fight I ever did have in my whole career, amateur or professional.”

Fury’s verdict might have changed after his last fight against MMA superstar Francis Ngannou, 37, in October.

He was astonishingly dropped by the boxing debutant but did walk away with a controversial split-decision victory.

Cunningham said: “I believe Ngannou only looked as good as he did fighting Fury because Fury didn’t take fighting an MMA guy seriously.

“Ngannou does have unbelievable power, though. He landed a clean shot on Fury, who wasn’t in shape at all.

“I was surprised at that but not at the fact that Fury got up and outpointed him.”

Anticipation is slowly starting to build again for boxing fans, as it is just six weeks until WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and his challenger Oleksandr Uysk face off against each other, in a fight that was originally scheduled for this past February until a deep cut to the eye of the Gypsy King postponed proceedings.

Fans will be hoping for nothing to occur between now and then to cause another delay, with a desire for this fight to finally happen, but it is one of Fury’s former opponents that is speculating that if things go as he predicts, then the Brit could actually get disqualified.

Tyson Fury’s Recent Struggles

With poor performances and other results, questions have been raised over Fury

Tyson Fury’s boxing stock has taken a bit of a hit in recent times, with a points victory over Francis Ngannou, which included himself getting knocked down by the MMA star, being a turning point from the perspective of fans. Did Fury not try as he was facing a non-boxer, or has he simply lost some of what made him the greatest heavyweight champion on earth? These questions were due to be answered as the Gypsy King got into the best shape in years and prepared to take on Oleksandr Usyk in a huge heavyweight bout. That was until the stumbling block got in the way.

Now, finally six weeks out from the fight, there is hope that nothing will ruin the bout this time round, with the threat of huge financial ramifications looming over both competitors if one were to pull out. It is clear that the WBC are taking this bout seriously too, hiring six judges, as opposed to the usual three, so no controversy can occur on the road to crowning the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 1999.

Boxing fans can only wait and see what will occur come the 18th of May, but there has already been speculation from a former opponent of Fury’s that things might not end well.

Disqualification Warning Sent to Fury

Steve Cunningham, who has shared the ring with Fury, has concerns

Steve Cunningham faced off against the Gypsy King back in 2013, in a losing effort at MSG, although he did manage to drop the current heavyweight champion in the second round. Cunningham, speaking to World Boxing News, brought up the boxing style of Fury and how that may lead to him losing points.

Tyson Fury has been warned by former opponent Steve Cunningham that he could be disqualified against Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury is just over six weeks away from his undisputed heavyweight world title fight against Usyk that was originally supposed to take place in February, but was pushed back after Fury was cut in sparring. Fury is hoping to put on a better performance than he did in his last fight against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, when he was dropped and only won by a single point.

“I believe Ngannou only looked as good as he did fighting Fury because Fury didn’t take fighting an MMA guy seriously. Ngannou does have unbelievable power, though. He landed a clean shot on Fury, who wasn’t in shape at all. I was surprised at that but not at the fact that Fury got up and outpointed him,” Cunningham told World Boxing News.

Fury fought Cunningham over a decade ago and fought back after being dropped to win by stoppage. “I think Usyk wins by decision against Fury. Either that or Fury gets disqualified. Fury’s going to have to lean and lay all over Usyk to tire him down as he does usually. I think the referee will be alerted to this before the fight [by team Usyk] and Fury will lose points,” Cunningham added.

Fury or Usyk will be crowned as the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999 and their fight could be scored by six judges instead of three to try and avoid any judging controversies. WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman is concerned about the possibility of a bad scorecard ruining the fight and has proposed the major rule change.

If Fury is able to get past Usyk it means a fight between him and Anthony Joshua could finally be made after nearly a decade of build-up. Joshua did what Fury couldn’t in his last fight by knocking out Ngannou but Fury scoffed at claims that Joshua is currently the best heavyweight in boxing.

“I’m sure that Oleksandr Usyk will have something to say about that given he beat him twice,” Fury said. “For the actual real boxing, it’s me and Usyk who fight for the undisputed heavyweight world championship of the world. I had a s*** performance against Ngannou, that’s what a boxer should have done with him, but if he fights next year it’ll be a different game.”

Tyson Fury has been told he risks being disqualified during his much-anticipated fight against Oleksandr Usyk.

Originally, the pair were due to fight in February but the bout was called off after Fury suffered a cut above the eye during a sparring session.

As a result, the fight was rescheduled to take place on May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of the fight, Fury has been warned by his former opponent Steve Cunningham that he could be disqualified against Usyk.

He told World Boxing News: “I believe Ngannou only looked as good as he did fighting Fury because Fury didn’t take fighting an MMA guy seriously. Ngannou does have unbelievable power, though. He landed a clean shot on Fury, who wasn’t in shape at all. I was surprised at that but not at the fact that Fury got up and outpointed him.

“I think Usyk wins by decision against Fury. Either that or Fury gets disqualified. Fury’s going to have to lean and lay all over Usyk to tire him down as he does usually. I think the referee will be alerted to this before the fight [by team Usyk] and Fury will lose points.”

It has been expected that if Fury manages to beat Usyk, a fight against fellow Brit Anthony Joshua could finally happen.

Speaking about a potential bout with Joshua, Fury previously said: “I’m sure that Oleksandr Usyk will have something to say about that given he beat him twice.

“For the actual real boxing, it’s me and Usyk who fight for the undisputed heavyweight world championship of the world. I had a s*** performance against Ngannou, that’s what a boxer should have done with him, but if he fights next year it’ll be a different game.”

Last time out, Fury had to dig deep to get the better of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, with the boxing champion coming out on top via decision.

THE UNDERCARD for Tyson Fury’s historic undisputed title fight against Oleksandr Usyk has been announced.

Fury and Usyk meet in the first ever four-belt unification bout on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.

Providing chief support on the night are cruiserweight rivals Jai Opetaia and Mairis Briedis.

Opetaia beat Briedis for the IBF title in 2023 and a rematch was then called.

But Opetaia opted to instead fight on Anthony Joshua’s undercard in December and as a result lost his belt.

So the title he was harshly forced to vacate will once again be on the line when he shares the ring with Briedis again.

Also defending his IBF super-featherweight world title is undefeated Welshman Joe Cordina against Northern Irishman Anthony Cacare.

Heavyweights Agit Kabayel and Frank Sanchez collide in a WBC eliminator as they look to rise the ranks for a shot at the strap.

Moses Itauma – the 19-year-old dubbed Britain’s answer to Mike Tyson – returns against Ilja Mazencev.

And New Zealand cruiserweight David Nyika also faces Michael Seitz.

Opetaia, Seitz and Nyika are all former sparring partners of Fury.

Other undercard bouts are former light-heavyweight world champ Sergey Kovalev in action against Robin Safar at cruiseweight.

Fury’s friend and training partner Isaac Lowe take son Hasibullah Ahmadi and Mark Chamberlain fights Joshua Oluwaseun