TYSON FURY has been tipped to PULL OUT of his historic heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
The Gypsy King will bid to become the first undisputed ruler of the division in over 25 years in a lucrative Saudi showdown next month.
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to throw down on February 17Credit: EPA
Their undisputed heavyweight title fight has been postponed multiple timesCredit: Getty
Former WBC welterweight champ Shawn Porter reckons Fury may pull out of the boutCredit: AP
Fury, 35, held Usyk’s WBA, IBF and IBO titles during his first reign as heavyweight champ, which lasted a mere 11 months.
And Shawn Porter believes the size of the task on his hands may prompt the Wythenshawe warrior to contemplate withdrawing from the historic showdown.
The former WBC welterweight champ told ProBox TV: “You look at a guy like Tyson Fury, a guy who has been around this track so many times.
“I think that a fighter will get to a point where they see the hardest night ahead of them and they’re like, ‘Man, I just had so many of those hard nights, I am not going to have that hard night.’
“What we know about Tyson Fury is that he is a showman, what we know about Tyson Fury is that he likes things to be his way or no way.
“Which is why he went after Francis Ngannou, because those are the kind of fights that he is looking for.
“He is looking for things that are going to give him the money and the recognition and the nights that he is not going to have to train hard for anymore.”
Porter isn’t the only former world champion to reckon Fury may do a runner from the fight.
Former super-middleweight champ Carl Froch said on his YouTube channel: “He’s got a bit of timber on him, a bit of derby that he needs to reign in before the fight.
“I think it’s gonna be a tough one for Tyson to have a good Christmas and New Year, relax, and let his bald head down over Christmas and New Year.
“He’s got a wonderful family, we’ve seen on Netflix.
“He’s got a big family, his wife and seven children.
“So, he’s gonna want to relax and have a good time.
“Is he going to want to be training over Christmas and New Year, which he’s going to have to do, if he’s going to be ready for the February event?
“I’m not so sure, I’ve got a feeling that fight might get pushed back until March. You heard it here first.”
He added: “Hopefully it does happen in February.
“The Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight for the unification – for the heavyweight undisputed unification fight – has to happen.
“I’m optimistic it will, I’ve just got my reservations that it’s going to happen in February.”