Eddie Hearn split: ‘Heart says Tyson Fury, head says Oleksandr Usyk’ ahead of heavyweight title showdown

Ahead of this weekend’s title fight rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, Matchroom Boxing leader, Eddie Hearn admits he is firmly split in his pick for the championship matchup, claiming his heart is hoping for a Fury victory — while his head is leading him to a Usyk win over the Morecambe challenger.

Fury, who enters his title rematch with Usyk this weekend in the Middle East, is tasked with regaining championship spoils, as well as avenging his sole professional boxing defeat, following a split decision loss to the Ukrainian back in May of this year, dropping his undisputed WBC crown to boot.

And with his one-sided split judging win, Usyk snatched Fury’s championship, and became the first fighter at the heavyweight limit in the ‘four-belt era’ to win all crowns across the governing bodies.

Eddie Hearn offers his pick for Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury title rematch

Entering this weekend’s battle in Riyadh as a sizeable 4/6 betting favorite following his May judging win in Saudi Arabia, predictors of the matchup would be going with their heads by picking Usyk according to promoter Eddie Hearn, who admitted his heart is leading him to a win for Fury.

“[Oleksandr Usyk is an] unbelievable downloader of data, right?” Eddie Hearn told TNT Sports Boxing. “But instantly, not will go away for a few months and watch tape and understand. He does it on the spot; that’s why he’s so good. The ability to just change, the ability to switch tactics. When he has more time, it becomes even more dangerous. And for me, like I keep saying, my heart says Tyson Fury, my head says Oleksandr Usyk.”

“Just as you do, you get caught up in the buildup, even me. Yeah, right? And I’m watching Fury last night on the plane, I’m watching Usyk. Usyk seems to have this, for once, this strange aura and speaks with confidence and borderline not arrogance, because he’s not that guy. But you know, I’ve never heard him talk about how good he is. And I mean, people are feeding him with lions, but he’s still saying, ‘I will stop him. Yes, I am the best. Yes, I am.’ You know, and I’ve not really seen that before.”