Usyk's manager plots the battle ahead
Egis Klimas believes Usyk will beat Tyson but knows: "It will probably be the hardest fight of Oleksandr's career"
Egis Klimas, the Manager of Oleksandr Usyk who was the special guest of the World Boxing Council's weekly press conference in Mexico City, says the looming booming blockbuster against worthy WBC Champion Tyson Fury will be the hardest and most exacting fight of “Oleksandr The Great's” career, with a point to prove.
Egis, who was at Martes a Cafe, in the popular Sport and Chips in Mexico City sitting beside WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman, grinned broadly, exuding confidence in the build up to February 17th, but neither he nor Oleksandr are under any illusions about the sheer magnitude of the task which lies ahead, or the mass of work which still remans to be undertaken, done and completed, before that first bell rings.
He said: “We've been working to get this fight for a long, long time and finally we did it! Definitely it isn't going to be an easy fight. It will probably be the hardest fight of Oleksandr's career. He's confident, but simultaneously he knows full well that there's going to be a lot of work to do. He's a hard worker, a good athlete and a very good fighter.
“It's not going to be easy to get sparring partners, because Tyson Fury is very tall, with a long reach and he has a very awkward style and he's heavy, so this is going to be the biggest challenge. But I have no doubts that Oleksandr is going to win.
“Factors will be his footwork, his intelligence, his boxing IQ. I wouldn't even say Fury has big power. He has a lot of weight and he leans on fighters. That's how he wears them down. But it won't be easy to beat down Oleksandr.”
The awesome significance of being undisputed heavyweight champion is not lost on either Fury or Usyk. Egis stressed: “Don't forget that as cruiserweight champion Oleksandr already held all four belts. Nobody believed that he could go so far in the heavyweight division. Nobody believed that he could come in and dominate the heavyweight division which is doing.
“I've been blessed to work with Oleksandr. Of course this means a lot to me. He's a very good human being, he has no envy, he always smiles, is happy he enjoys greeting people. It is a pleasure to be with Oleksandr.
“This will be a great show. The biggest show!”
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