- Tyson Fury has re-opened as the -280 betting favorite to beat Oleksandr Usyk in a potential heavyweight title unification bout.
- Usyk, who opened at +250 to beat Fury after beating Anthony Joshua in 2021, is now listed at +220 odds.
- The Ukrainian is however a heavy -715 favorite to defeat interim WBA heavyweight champion Joe Joyce (+370).
Tyson Fury is still the sizable betting favorite in a possible title unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Betting lines for the Fury vs Usyk bout went up once again after the two heavyweight champions faced off in the middle of the ring after Fury’s victory over Derek Chisora over the weekend in London:
Do you think we will see Fury vs. Usyk in 2023? 🤔 #FuryUsyk #Boxing pic.twitter.com/PvWzS0DZbz
— bjpenndotcom (@bjpenndotcom) December 3, 2022
Fury Dominates Chisora in 10
Prior to the faceoff, Fury dominated and stopped an overmatched Derek Chisora inside 10 rounds to retain the WBC and lineal heavyweight championship at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last weekend.
The win was Fury’s third overall against his domestic rival and his first since a brief retirement. The 34-year-old scored a TKO victory against Dillian Whyte last April and then announced that he was walking away from the sport. But barely four months later, Fury declared that he was coming back and booked a date with Chisora.
Fury landed more than twice as many punches as Chisora at 205 to 87 and connected nearly thrice as many power punches at 142 to 58. The referee finally stopped the one-sided beating at the 2:51 mark of round 10, giving Fury his 24th KO in 34 total wins without a defeat and with one draw. After the bout, he called out Usyk who was in the audience and the two faced off in the middle of the squared circle.
Fury Still Sizable Favorite to Beat Usyk
Fury mocked Usyk and hurled invectives at the Ukrainian champion. But Usyk didn’t blink and stood right in front of the loud-mouthed Fury. After the faceoff, online sportsbook BetOnline reopened the betting lines for a possible showdown between the two heavyweight champions. According to the said online betting site, Fury is the -280 favorite and Usyk the +220 bottom dog.
The new betting line looks a little better for the unified champion, who opened at +250 odds against Fury’s -300 back shortly after Usyk took the heavyweight belts from Anthony Joshua in 2021. The current odds are, however, slightly longer for Usyk who stood at +210 to beat Fury after his second win over Joshua last August. After that victory, Usyk declared that he wants Fury next or he’s “not fighting at all”. But that may have to wait.
Fury said that he suffered a right-hand injury last Saturday and also declared that he might undergo right elbow surgery that will sideline him for 8 to 11 weeks. The Gypsy King previously underwent left elbow surgery following his 11th-round TKO win over Deontay Wilder in their trilogy fight.
Usyk vs Joyce?
No doubt, the fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is the best fight to make in boxing’s heavyweight division, But it may not be in the immediate future. The top boxing sportsbooks have also opened the betting lines for other possible marquee boxing bouts in 2023.
While Usyk previously declared “Fury or nothing”, the top boxing betting sites have opened him as a massive -715 betting favorite to beat interim WBA heavyweight champion, Joe Joyce. The British fighter called out Usyk after becoming the first fighter to stop former WBO champion Joseph Parker last September, in the bout where he earned the interim belt.
Joyce is also listed as the +165 betting underdog in a potential bout with former WBC heavyweight ruler Deontay Wilder (-250). The 2016 Olympic silver medalist is also the +250 bottom dog in a possible Anthony Joshua (-375) bout. The top boxing sportsbooks have also listed Joyce as the -136 betting favorite versus former champion Andy Ruiz Jr.(-106) and at -129 against Dillian Whyte (-114).
