“It’s hard to beat him” – Lennox Lewis makes bold prediction between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk

Lennox Lewis backs Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury and Usyk will face off in the first undisputed heavyweight title fight in 25 years on May 18 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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The last time all the belts were up for grabs, Lewis beat Evander Holyfield for the IBF, WBA and WBC belts at a time when the WBO was not recognized as a major sanctioning body.

There are several similarities between Fury vs. Usyk and Lewis vs. Holyfield.

Like Holyfield, Usyk spent the early part of his career at cruiserweight before moving up in weight.

Meanwhile, Fury and Lewis are career-long heavyweights who both tip the scales at around 250 pounds.

In the last undisputed clash, the bigger man won and Lewis expects history to repeat itself later this month.

“I believe Tyson Fury has great attributes, he’s big, he can box in both positions, he can move forward,” he told talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver.

“At the moment it’s difficult to beat a bigger player, so I will always say the bigger one has the advantage.”

Most boxing experts predict that Fury will have to succeed at distance if he hopes to beat the Ukrainian slickster.

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But “The Lion” backs Fury to raise his hand after 12 rounds.

“I think Tyson Fury has points but I’m not counting Usyk,” he continued.

Asked what the keys to Fury’s victory were, Lewis said: “He has to use his attributes, he has to be elusive and throw that jab.

“He has to do what he knows he has to do. He’s been there before, he’s boxed smaller guys, he just has to put it all together.”

Turning his attention to Usyk, he added: “Usyk will do what he normally does.

“He’s going to move around the ring well, he’s going to try to bring Tyson out of his shell.

“It’s going to take him a few laps because it’s going to take time for both guys to get used to each other.

“It will take at least four rounds for anything to happen.

“Who will be the first man to attack? Maybe it will be Usyk.

“Who will be the guy who throws all the punches and moves around? Usyk will do it because he has to find a way to take on a 6-foot-9 heavyweight.

“It’s the first time he’s faced a 6-foot-9 heavyweight.”