These two can fairly be regarded as the best big men in the sport of boxing right now. Between them, they have just one loss in a total of 58 bouts – delivered from Usyk to Fury – and have picked up every conceivable title in the banner division including the Ring Magazine, the lineal honours, and all four major belts.
It was Usyk who managed to hold all of those simultaneously after beating the Brit in the first undisputed showdown in Saudi Arabia back in May. That historic win came six years after he repeated the same trick down at cruiserweight and six years after winning an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.
The close and engaging undisputed contest saw Fury have success early on before Usyk turned the tide with a particularly strong 9th round that ultimately saw him come away as the points winner.
Joe Joyce is one man who has shared a ring with both having sparred with Fury and taken on Usyk in the World Series of Boxing in 2013 when he lost a decision.
Speaking to Seconds Out, he was asked how he sees the fight going and tentatively sided with his former foe.
“I think it’s up to Fury really, Usyk’s got the blueprint. He’s a very smart fighter, clever. So is Fury but I think it’s on Fury if he can pull it out of the bag, have an amazing training camp and put it all on the line and see if he can do something. Other than that it’s going to be Usyk again.”
Joyce has some big decisions to make himself having lost his last fight against Derek Chisora. He has since confirmed he will fight on.