Tyson Fury has claimed that Oleksandr Usyk will be far too good for Anthony Joshua when the pair meet again in August.
Joshua, 32, lost the IBF, WBA and WBO world titles to Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25 and invoked his contractual right to a rematch.
The date and location has been fixed at Jeddah's SuperDome in Saudi Arabia on August 20.
AJ heads into the fight as a big underdog given the boxing prowess of Usyk, who is one of only three men to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become a world heavyweight champion, following in the footsteps of Evander Holyfield and David Haye respectively.
Usyk is currently riding a 19-fight undefeated winning streak including knockout wins over Tony Bellew and Marco Huck at cruiserweight, solidifying his place at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings as a result.
Joshua has notably brought in Robert Garcia to replace former coach Rob McCracken following his most recent loss to Usyk but Fury can't see how that will help him in the slightest.
Ahead of arguably the most important fight of Joshua's career to date, Fury told Pitch Boxing: “I just think Usyk’s too cute for him.
Anthony Joshua is set to rematch Oleksandr Usyk this summer
“Too smart, too quick and a southpaw. I think with Robert Garcia trying to train him to go on the front foot and be aggressive will only enable Usyk to land more often. I just don’t see it but then again, what do I know?
“In heavyweight boxing it only takes one punch.
“It wasn’t a complete landslide last time, Usyk had a lot of marks on his face. He was cut up. He’s not hard to hit, Usyk, he’s right there in front of you so obviously Joshua can land a big punch on him.
“Anyone can win a fight as we’ve seen many, many times. It’s a good time to beat Usyk now because he’s been at war for however long. If ever he was going to be off his ball, now is the time.
"I just think that Usyk’s too good of a boxer for AJ and I don’t think AJ has got the ability to pressurize him for 12 rounds, drag him into a dog fight and knock him out.
“You have to be an elite, special human being for that and I don’t think Joshua possesses that will to win to do that. He’s happy to come second place, he’s too easily happy to come second position.
“If you’re willingly settled for second, say no more.”