I think we can safely assume 2024 versions of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury are not their prime versions. What if... the best version of Tyson Fury (Wilder II) and Oleksandr Usyk (Joshua I) squared off? I know the best version of Fury is most likely the 2015 version when he beat Klitschko, but c'mon, he could have never came back to that after the 2.5 year cocaine binge. Usyk on the other hand never looked better than in September 2021. Cracking fight! Who's winning this one? In my opinion Usyk does even better job on Fury. He was way quicker and way more athletic 3 years back. Fights with AJ and Dubois also must have put some mileage on him. On the other hand, maybe he is better suited for the heavyweight boxing now than he was back then? I'll let you guys decide.
Its Fury quite easily. Usyk took a few years to adjust to HW, and I think he still was overly rushed to the top. The version of Usyk that faced Fury would have KO'd AJ quite easily.
Personally I don't think either are the best - Wilder's ineptitude made Fury look better than he was in their 2nd fight, I'd say u'd have to go back to Wlad or the 2nd Chisora fight where he had his elbows and could snipe the jab out all night for the best Fury. Similarly, although Usyk was v good v Joshua (and the quality of that fight was way beyond Wilder / Fury in terms of high level boxing IMO), he was still markedly faster and more mobile against Gassiev IMO - that mongoose-like Usyk was his peak IMO
Fury would have to impose his size here to the fullest cuz he would be too slow to evade what Usyk throws. Chisora had some success. Personally, I think 2015 Fury would beat Usyk and everyone else from this era.
Fury only had 1 fight in 2020 which was arguably his best performance vs Wilder. But prior to the fight he had a life and death struggle vs Wallin who was also a Southpaw which is quite significant, and in 2021 Fury also had another poor performance vs Wilder so you have 1 good performance in the middle of two bad performances. Usyk in 2021 also only had 1 fight which was vs Joshua which is arguably the best performance he's had at Heavyweight. Prior to that he a decision win over Chisora which he didn't look overly impressive in but i think Usyk was still growing into the division. It's not a coincidence that in every fight after Chisora that Usyk has weighed over 220+ pounds including 223 pounds vs Fury which was his heaviest weight. As for the thread i'm going with Usyk he was faster/sharper in 2021 and had perfectly grown into the division by that time.