'I'm the man who knocked out John Fury – Tyson won’t beat Oleksandr Usyk and this is why'

An old adversary of John Fury is certain that Tyson cannot overcome Oleksandr Usyk in their heavyweight unification showdown.

The fight, scheduled for Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, has the potential to crown boxing's first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years, provided it doesn't result in a draw. Although Tyson is the favourite with many, former British heavyweight Steve Garber, who twice fought against Fury Snr and delivered a brutal knockout in 1995, thinks otherwise (via the Manchester Evening News).

Garber, now 61, is firmly of the opinion that Usyk will be victorious. The former boxer, who once fought Lennox Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight king, in 1989, considers Tyson as "finished" due to not maintaining himself outside the ring.

"He's never fancied that fight. He knows he's got a hard fight. I'll tell you, Usyk is going to beat Fury," the Yorkshireman stated emphatically.

"It's good for boxing if Fury wins because he's marketable, he can talk the talk, he's entertaining. But he's fighting a guy who's got a mindset which is special and who can go with Fury."

Garber, who now runs a security firm, added: "Even [Anthony] Joshua, a physically strong man, couldn't beat him. Usyk's going to do what he's going to have to do and adapt. I believe he'll stop him.

"Fury's gone, he's not the same fighter. What people don't understand is that he's 35, but he looks like he's 65, because he's not lived the [boxing] life.

"Booze, drugs, going up and down in weight. It hasn't done him any good. It was the same with Ricky Hatton. [Floyd] Mayweather's father told him [Hatton] in Vegas I was there that it's no good doing what you're doing, going up and down in weight, it affects you.

"Very few fighters live the life, apart from Mayweather, who's a gym rat. He still doesn't drink to this day. That's what it takes, you cannot abuse your body. It'll affect his [Fury's] punch resistance. I want him to win, it's good for boxing if he wins, but he won't."

Fury, who was fortunate to beat boxing novice Francis Ngannou on points last year, is looking especially lean in a bid to combat the smaller but slippery Ukrainian.

"That performance against Ngannou was a disgrace," added Garber. "His dad's told him he's got to put the work in, because he's got all 'yes men' around him.

"All these people around him, they'll soon disappear, they'll be gone. It was the same with Mike Tyson. I was present when he [Tyson] fought Kevin McBride [in 2005]. He lost and was by himself, I couldn't believe it. He was there for financial reasons."