Ricky Hatton reveals ‘horrific’ reason why Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk could be stopped
Ricky Hatton has suggested that Tyson Fury could be stopped on his feet against Oleksandr Usyk if old wounds reopen.
Fury was forced to withdraw from his scheduled undisputed clash with Usyk in February, after suffering a horror cut above his right eye in sparring.
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The fight was then rescheduled for May 18 in Saudi Arabia, which has given the 'Gypsy King' just a matter of months for the wound to make a full recovery.
British boxing icon Hatton, who is friends with the WBC heavyweight world champion, is confident the cut will heal in this time, but remains concerned that it could see the fight stopped early.
He told Spinbet: “I don’t think it’ll make a difference. Tyson would have the right people stitch it up and do the surgery to get it right.
“I got cut against John Thaxton and required plastic surgery and it was horrific.
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"I know Tyson has only had a few weeks to recover from it, but if it opens up after six rounds it would have to be a horrific one for the referee to stop it for a fight of that stature with so much on the line.
“If it does open, it would have to open up dramatically for the referee to stop it bearing in mind with so much being at stake.
"I’m not too concerned about it.”
Despite suggesting a horror stoppage could be on the cards if Fury's luck runs out, he went on to reiterate that the British heavyweight can get the job done.
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“I see Tyson as favourite but not as big of a favourite as I once did,” added Hatton. “I think the condition he turned up in for Francis Ngannou wasn’t at his best or slimmest.
“He was heavier than he normally would be, and Francis was a lot better than what we thought he was.
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“You see the shape he is in now, trimmed and slim which he needs to be, I think it’ll be the best thing to have happened to him going into the Usyk fight.
"He’ll go straight back to the drawing board and knows he has to be bang on and I think he will be.”
Fury will be looking to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since Lennox Lewis achieved the feat in 1999.
Training footage has emerged of the 'Gypsy King' and he looks in brilliant shape, and is supremely confident of another victory.
He has made a remarkable transformation since his lacklustre performance against Francis Ngannou, and has now entered a full training camp.
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