Tony Bellew says that Tyson Fury needs to simply accept that Oleksandr Usyk is better than him, something he doesn’t feel Fury has been capable of doing yet.
Usyk, who faces Rico Verhoeven this Saturday in Egypt, beat Fury twice in 2024. Since then, Fury has complained about being robbed by the judges in either fight.
Bellew says he “doesn’t like” that Fury seems incapable of giving Usyk credit:
“Just say it as it is. He was better than you. Tyson Fury spent 12 months degrading (Usyk) and dehumanizing
him and insulting him. Then when he beat him it was, like, ‘I’ve been robbed.’ No ‘he’s amazing, I just didn’t think he was that good’ — none of the credit he deserves, which I don’t like. … It kills him. That’s what breaks his heart the most, that he’s met someone who’s just better than him. But he’s not the only one, and he’s got to accept that.”
Bellew, who also lost to Usyk back in 2018, has long heaped praise upon a rival who became a friend, including a recent sit-down chat with DAZN for Saturday’s event.
Fury returned to boxing in April after a long layoff following the Usyk losses, beating Arslanbek Makhmudov quite easily. There has since been a lot of talk about Fury finally facing Anthony Joshua, another twice-beaten Usyk rival who now trains with the Ukrainian. While the fight is reportedly signed and in place, Joshua will first fight Kristian Prenga in a tune-up on July 25, and Fury reportedly wants to have another tune-up, as well.
