GEORGE GROVES claims Tyson Fury pulled him aside before demanding to know why he was backing Oleksandr Usyk to win next month’s heavyweight title fight.
Fury and Usyk will finally collide in a championship unifier when they take to the ring in Saudi Arabia on February 17.
ReutersGeorge Groves predicts Oleksandr Usyk will beat Tyson Fury[/caption]
ReutersGroves was confronted by Fury over his backing for Usyk[/caption]
The two men are the princes of the heavyweight division.
And whoever emerges victorious will finally be crowned the king once and for all.
Many are predicting Fury to win the bout thanks to his size and strength advantage.
But former WBA super-middleweight champ Groves is backing Usyk to come up with the goods.
He reckons the Ukrainian’s smaller frame will work to his advantage.
And Groves even claims that after getting wind of his prediction, Fury confronted him backstage at a show before demanding an explanation.
Groves told Grosvenor Casino: “I think Usyk wins, I think he’s in better form.
“I know people are attacking him a bit for the Dubois performance but I thought he was very, very good. Usyk was in full control and stopped him.
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“Usyk will take Fury out of his comfort zone, Fury’s a big unit and he carries a lot of weight.
“And if Usyk makes him work harder than he used to then it’s going to be a tough night for him.
“Usyk builds into a fight and each round he cranks it up. I think he’s in better form, I’m going against the natural size of Fury, and I’m picking Usyk. I think he wins quite comfortably.
“Fury pulled me backstage once and he said ‘hey, why are you picking Usyk to win’ and I said ‘Tyson, someone’s got to pick him’.”
Groves’ prediction comes after Fury declared he will only train for five weeks before facing Usyk.
He said: “I train four or five weeks for these fights.
“Please, like I trained 12 weeks for Wilder and everybody else! Four or five weeks, how much training does a man need?
“Three or four weeks of sparring and one week of resting, done. We’ve been boxing for all of our lives since young boys, how much training do we need?
“I’m sure we aren’t going to forgot how to box and it’s not a fitness competition is it, so I don’t think you need anymore than five weeks.”
TYSON FURY VS OLEKSANDR USYK: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT