11 February 2023 , 10:23
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Tyson Fury's cousin and coach Andy Lee fears that his undisputed heavyweight title clash with Oleksandr Usyk may not happen "any time soon" after a number of delays to the fight date.
Fury and Usyk had discussed a potential February meeting after the Brit's win over Derek Chisora in December, but that has been pushed back on numerous occasions with April 29 now looking like the favoured date. However, even that has yet to be formally announced, and Lee believes the bout may be "too good to be true".
A former world champion, Lee is no stranger to major title bouts and has cornered Fury for some of his most famous nights, including his second world title win over Deontay Wilder. And while he's confident of a victory should the Usyk bout happen, he's concerned that it could prove another in a string of unfulfilled major world title bouts.
"I haven't seen a lot of Tyson recently," Lee told Mirror Fighting in an exclusive chat at the launch event for Jason Quigley's April 1 bout with Kim Poulsen in Dublin. "We were together all the time when Joseph Parker fought [last month]. We trained before Christmas and after Christmas.
"I have no update on the fight because I haven't spoken to him, but I don't know - it's on again, it's off again, I don't know. I don't see it being done any time soon, it seems too good to be true. There's nothing I can say about it because I don't know anything about it, but they need to fight each other."
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Lee and Fury have both learned the famous Kronk Gym style under Emmanuel Steward, with the heavyweight now being coached by his nephew SugarHill. And the former middleweight champion believes that his cousin's skillset is too strong for Usyk to win, despite his previous issues with a cruiserweight coming up to heavyweight in Steve Cunningham.
Tyson Fury's cousin Andy Lee fears the undisputed title fight may be off (Al Bello/Getty Images)Do you believe that Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk will happen soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
The Brit was put down by Cunningham in his American debut back in 2013 at Madison Square Garden, but rallied back for a seventh round knockout. He claimed prior to his first meeting with Deontay Wilder that Cunningham was a tougher fight than the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, and fans are concerned that he may struggle against an opponent over whom he towers over by half-a-foot.
"I think it's a difficult fight for Tyson," Lee admitted. "Obviously Deontay Wilder's got the power, but in terms of technical ability Usyk's very good. I'm obviously backing Tyson to win. Look how [the fight with Cunningham] ended, that's what will happen in this one.
"Tyson could fight him southpaw, try to box him. And if that doesn't work Tyson can just maul him and eventually wear him down. He's too big, too strong and he has all of the attributes, all of the advantages."