Tony Bellew delivers his verdict on Oleksandr Usyk vs Deontay Wilder: “I genuinely believe that”

Former Oleksandr Usyk rival, Tony Bellew, has weighed in on the undefeated Ukrainian’s call out of Deontay Wilder.

Usyk became undisputed heavyweight champion for a second time this year when he stopped Daniel Dubois in five rounds at Wembley Stadium. He then vacated the WBO belt, stating he had no interest in facing mandatory challenge Fabio Wardley, who was subsequently elevated to full champion.

Instead, the 38-year-old appears to want to tick off another big name from this era of big men having already beaten Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. He recently said Wilder, 40, was his number one target, despite the American being inactive at the top level.

Speaking on Froch on Fighting, Bellew talked up Wilder’s famous power as the point that still makes the match-up interesting.

“Oh, that’s an interesting fight. I do think [Wilder] is gun shy. I think he might be shot. I’m not gonna lie, there’s no point in saying he’s not, but the last thing you lose is that punch. But I do think he’s weary of throwing it.

“Yeah [it will be interesting if he lands], because no matter what, Deontay Wilder is still the biggest single puncher in boxing. Even if he’s a bit gun shy, even if he’s a bit shot, with one shot he’s got more power than anyone else in the world. I genuinely believe that. So, that’s a risky one. Let’s be honest, risk a versus reward, he’s getting literally no reward for that.”

The 6′ 6″ puncher from Alabama does indeed have a case for the biggest hitter in the sport, boasting 43 knockouts from 44 wins. The one man that took him the distance before losing, Bermaine Stiverne, was stopped in their rematch.

However, fans can’t ignore his most recent form, fights against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in particular in which Wilder posed little to no threat. After losing on points against Parker, he was quite brutally stopped by Zhang inside five rounds. With Usyk displaying heavyweight power of his own in his last bout against Dubois, many will back the Ukrainian to end it inside the distance should the fight materialise.