Ricky Hatton believes Tyson Fury is the favourite in his upcoming undisputed heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
WBC champion Fury and WBA, WBO and IBF title holder Usyk are set to square off later this year in Saudi Arabia with all the heavyweight belts on the line, but only after Fury faces MMA star Francis Ngannou in a non-title bout later this month.
Hatton, a former two-weight champion himself, is looking forward to the Fury vs. Usyk clash, and he strongly favours the "Gypsy King" to prevail. Speaking to Mighty Tips, Hatton was asked whether Fury should be considered the favourite ahead of the highly anticipated clash.
"I think he is but it’s not beyond the realms of impossibility (Usyk wins)," Hatton said. "When you think Tyson has the height, the reach, he can box southpaw, orthodox, stand there, sit in there and have fight, he can sit and sway and move and make you miss off the back foot.
"He can lean, counterpunch, he does everything Usyk does and he’s got the strength and weight advantage. But it’s not a foregone conclusion. I can’t see anything other than a Tyson win."
While Hatton leans towards a Fury victory, he think Usyk's smaller stature could cause some problems. If Usyk is to overcome his underdog status, Hatton says it'll be the Ukrainian's size and speed that will be a major factor.
"Fury has fought your Dillian Whytes, your Deontay Wilders and with no disrespect intended, the big lump heavyweights who can stand there and have it," Hatton explained.
"He (Usyk) is the smaller man but what Tyson needs to do to adapt from his fights with Whyte, Wilder and his fight in Saudi Arabia, all he has fought is big lumps and all of sudden he’s got a smaller man who might be a little bit nippy in and out and probably causes another problem that Tyson might not have been used to for four or five years.
"I think Tyson wins but the size difference against the smaller man causes problems he might not have had in the last four or five years."