Oleksandr Usyk is an 'elite-level freak' and Tyson Fury must come to terms with those defeats, says Tony Bellew
Tony Bellew maintains that the referee saved him from himself when he fought Oleksandr Usyk; the former world champion explains what made the Ukrainian so difficult to beat and why Tyson Fury still has to come to terms with Usyk simply being the better fighter
Wednesday 20 May 2026 12:42, UK
Tyson Fury needs to accept that "elite-level freak" Oleksandr Usyk was simply better than him, says former world champion Tony Bellew.
Bellew, who enjoyed success at heavyweight and was a cruiserweight world champion, has fought Usyk himself.
The great Ukrainian halted Bellew in the eighth round of their 2018 fight when the Liverpudlian moved back down to cruiserweight for an undisputed title fight with Usyk in Manchester.
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In 2024, Fury lost his undisputed heavyweight title fight with Usyk and was also defeated in their rematch.
But Fury has subsequently insisted he deserved the decision, certainly in their second fight.
Speaking at the launch of the Fight Your Corner podcast, Bellew advised: "Just say it as it is. He was better than you. Tyson Fury spent 12 months degrading him and dehumanising him and insulting him.
"Then when he beat him it was like 'I've been robbed'. No 'he's amazing, I just didn't think he was that good', none of the credit he deserves, which I don't like. When you get beat by someone who's better than you just hold your hands up.
"It kills him. That's what breaks his heart the most, that he's met someone who's just better than him. But he's not the only one and he's got to accept that."
Bellew knows as well as anyone how Usyk can push his opponents to their limits. "He's an elite-level freak and it's just the way he is," the former champion told Sky Sports.
"Oleksandr Usyk is the only person I came up against and my game plan was going perfect. Everything was perfect. At the end of round seven I'm up on two cards and I'm drawing on the third card but I didn't know where I was at the start of round eight. He made me that tired.
"He's the best fighter I've ever faced. His footwork was on another level. He'd downloaded everything I'd done and he used it against me in the end. He's exceptional. I'd never faced anyone who could do what he'd done to me.
"I never faced anyone [before] where I'd felt I was inferior to them. He was the only guy I couldn't [figure out]. He was the only guy just who was better than me. That's the best way of saying it.
"Everything he did from the footwork to the timing of the shots. He'd figured out what I was doing to beat him at that round-eight stage. It took so much out of me to be ahead at that stage I just had nothing left."
The conclusion of his fight with Usyk could have been devastating, Bellew reckons.
"I'm on my back, flat down, I get up [at the count of] six or seven. I'm asking to fight at eight. But I'm looking at the ceiling. But I want to carry on fighting," he recalled.
"Thankfully the referee saved my life, he stopped it.
"A referee is there to save you."
Watch Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki live on Sky Sports on June 6.
