Oleksandr Usyk lambasts Tyson Fury after Anthony Joshua survives KO scare against Kristian Prenga in boxing thriller

Oleksandr Usyk has directed some fighting words at his archrival and former unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. 

Also, Usyk -- in stark contrast to his assertions against Fury -- had words of high praise for another ex-unified heavyweight champion in Anthony Joshua. 

The Ukrainian boxer, who is himself a former undisputed champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, has boxed against both Fury and Joshua twice each.

Usyk beat Joshua via unanimous decision back in 2021, then by way of split decision in 2022. The striking extraordinaire later bested Fury via split decision in May of 2024. He beat "The Gypsy King" again by unanimous decision in December of the same year. 

Oleksandr Usyk lambasted Tyson Fury moments after Anthony Joshua's comeback KO win over Kristian Prenga

Oleksandr Usyk recently relinquished his heavyweight belts, except the Ring Magazine title, after his controversial 11th-round TKO win against kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven in their boxing match. 

Usyk further confirmed his next fight would be his last, with his team hinting that it could be a boxing match against ex-WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder or former two-division UFC champion Jon Jones in late 2026 or early 2027. 

Meanwhile, Usyk has helped opponent-turned-training partner Anthony Joshua train, as "AJ" attempts to work his way back into the heavyweight championship picture.

Joshua suffered a vicious KO loss against Daniel Dubois back in 2024, but he bounced back by knocking out influencer-cum-boxer Jake Paul last December. 

Unfortunately, Joshua was involved in a vehicular accident in Nigeria a few days later, in which two of his friends and team members, Latif "Latz" Ayodele and Sina Ghami, passed away.

Joshua recovered from his physical injuries but has been quite vocal about how the mental scars from the car accident are something that he continues to deal with.

His comeback fight saw him face Albania's Kristian Prenga in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a few hours ago (on July 25). Prenga knocked him down twice and almost defeated him in round one. 

Joshua, to his credit, managed to regain his bearings and catch Prenga with a few precise punches in the second round. The Englishman, striking from his usual orthodox stance, stunned his opponent with a jab-straight/cross combination and then with a right-left-right (two-three-two) to knock him halfway through the ropes. 

The Albanian pugilist couldn't beat the count, and Joshua thereby won via second-round KO. 

During a subsequent conversation with talkSPORTBoxing ringside a few moments after the fight, Oleksandr Usyk hailed his training partner as the potential next undisputed heavyweight champion. The 39-year-old stated, "Anthony Joshua is next undisputed champion." 

It's noteworthy that many expected Joshua's fight against Prenga to be a warm-up match before his eventual big-money all-British grudge match against Tyson Fury later this year.

On the other hand, Fury scored a seventh-round TKO victory against Mariusz Wach, in what was also deemed a warm-up match before the Joshua-Fury clash, on July 24. 

As such, Joshua's scare against Prenga caught many in the boxing community by surprise. When asked what was going through his mind when he saw "AJ" get knocked down in round one, Usyk suggested that it was a test, but Joshua is back.

"The Cat" indicated that it's boxing, wherein such mishaps happen, but he added that his former opponent fought well and rallied for the KO. 

Usyk was also asked about the second knockdown that Joshua suffered in the very first round. He replied by segueing into a jibe at Tyson Fury.

Usyk utilized the term "Greedy Belly" -- which he's often used over the years to describe Fury's tendency to gain considerable weight between fights and what he believes is the latter's alleged greed for wealth. 

Sounding off on Fury, Usyk stated, "Greedy Belly. Greedy Belly. I know you now will speak, 'Ow! Ow! You have chin like... weak chin. Blah, blah, blah.' Greedy Belly, get out." 

Oleksandr Usyk predicts an Anthony Joshua KO victory against Tyson Fury

The Ukrainian boxer was asked whether he watched Tyson Fury's latest fight that came against Mariusz Wach, to which he said no. Usyk asserted that the Joshua-Fury fight is surely next. 

When requested for his prediction for the long-awaited boxing mega-fight, Usyk affirmed that Joshua would emerge victorious by way of KO. He said: "'AJ' win... Knock him (Tyson Fury) out." 

Interestingly, the fight world has lately been abuzz with speculation about a possible bare-knuckle boxing match between pro boxing archrivals Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.

David Tetreault, the CEO of BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing and a veteran boxing personality, notably revealed that both boxers' camps had signaled that they could consider having their trilogy come to fruition in the sport of bare-knuckle boxing. 

For now, fans eagerly await the Joshua-Fury professional boxing matchup's date to be officially announced, whilst also hoping that the Usyk vs. Fury rubber match materializes, perhaps in the famed BKB Trigon. 

Watch Oleksandr Usyk's remarks regarding Tyson Fury and the imminent Fury vs. Joshua fight below: