Mike Tyson attends the Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul fight. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)

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Legendary fighter Mike Tyson has backed Tyson Fury to follow in his footsteps and become an undisputed heavyweight champion by defeating Oleksandr Usyk this weekend.

Thirty-five-year-old Fury heads to Saudi Arabia bidding to win the IBF, WBO and WBA titles, as well as retaining his WBA title, and become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

However, he faces Ukrainian Uysk who has defeated the likes of Anthony Joshua (2021 and 2022), Derek Chisora and Daniel Dubois since stepping up from cruiserweight in 2018.

But despite Usyk’s impressive resume in the division, Tyson, an undisputed heavyweight champion between 1987 and 1990, is backing Fury to prolong his unbeaten professional career by defeating the Ukrainian in Riyadh on Saturday night.

“I’m going with Tyson Fury. I think he’s going to overpower him, catch up with him and overpower him, that’s what I think but I could be wrong,” 57-year-old Tyson told FightHub TV earlier this week. “Little guys are difficult to fight ’cause they’re harder to hit ’cause they’re smaller.

“He runs a lot, he moves a lot, Tyson’s probably going to have a few rounds to get used to his moments but it’s going to be difficult, he’s very small, very fast.”

Fury has not stepped in the ring since a split decision win over Francis Ngannou in October and despite the struggles against the one-time UFC champion, Tyson believes Wythenshawe-born Fury is the “best” fighter in the world.

“I got to go with Fury,” added Tyson. “I think he’s the best fighter in the world, especially in the heavyweight division.”