Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk odds, pick and prediction for 5/18: How to bet boxing’s biggest fight in years 

Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk Odds

Fury vs. Usyk Breakdown & Analysis

Stylistically, this has the potential to be a beautiful boxing matchup.

Not your classic heavyweight boxing scrap between devastating inside-fighting knockout punchers, though they do have the ability to finish their opposition on any given night.

Fury profiles the ultimate matchup problem in the division because of his attributes and ability combine to create one of boxing's most difficult puzzles.

He's 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-1 reach and has generally been between 256 and 277 pounds since returning to the sport in 2018. He ballooned up to 400 pounds while drinking and doing coke after becoming the unified heavyweight champion the first time.

Even with the build of a modern NBA center, he moves like a point guard – or, in boxing terms, a welterweight.

Fury jokingly refers to Usyk as a "middleweight," where he was once a highly effective amateur boxer. Usyk, a 6-foot-3 heavyweight with a 6-foot-5 inch reach, was the undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world before stepping up to heavyweight. There, he gained three of the four major titles after dethroning Anthony Joshua in September 2021 by a clear decision, and he outboxed him again in August 2022 in the rematch.

Usyk is as technically sound a heavyweight as you'll find, perhaps outside of the man who'll stand across from him this weekend. And despite the large physical disadvantages, his speed, quickness and footwork have proved effective at heavyweight, where he's 5-0 with two knockouts.

We last saw Fury box Francis Ngannou to a split decision, quite famously, in October – but I've long maintained that Fury didn't train much, if at all, for that fight. Fury already appears to be in much better shape to face Usyk and is taking this fight much more seriously.

A seriously trained and in-shape Fury boxes Ngannou's head off and knocks him out.

In Fury's last serious fight, he carried an overmatched and old Derek Chisora to the 10th round of a December 2022 bout that no one asked for. That's the same Chisora whom Usyk did not put away in their October 2020 bout, which Usyk won by decision.

Usyk was at the center of one of boxing's biggest high-profile controversies last year stemming from his ninth-round knockout over Daniel Dubois. Dubois appeared to land a body shot on Usyk in Round 5 of the bout, which was ruled a low blow. The replay has sparked significant debate, leading many to believe Dubois should've been declared the new heavyweight champion after landing a body-shot knockout, but the punch was ruled a low blow, giving Usyk time to recover and eventually finish the bout four rounds later.

Fury vs. Usyk Prediction & Pick

I've gone back and forth on this bout a bit since the Fury-Ngannou matchup, but the more I've thought about it, I just rule that a BS Fury effort.

The knee-jerk reaction to any thought of a Fury-Usyk undisputed bout – which has been rumored going back to at least 2022 – was always Fury winning, for me personally.

And, admittedly, I've had a hard time seeing Usyk overcome the size, skill and power of Fury, barring another unserious letdown performance from the latter.

I think if Fury is going to lose, it'll be to a big puncher – more similar to a Deontay Wilder type, or even Anthony Joshua, who could catch Fury, who has been dropped several times in his career. Wilder nearly accomplished the feat twice despite the disparity in skill. But Usyk doesn't have that same power in general, and especially not at heavyweight.

Anything can happen in this sport (and in this division), but to me, Fury by decision has always been my line. And that number is pretty juicy. I've bet it at +220 on FanDuel. You can also find those odds at ESPN BET and bet365.

Enjoy the fight, and don’t go broke!

The Pick: Tyson Fury by Decision (+220 at FanDuel, ESPN BET & bet365)