Saturday night sees all eyes turn to Riyadh as heavyweight history beckons ahead of the crowning of a first ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion and a place amongst the greats.

In a true 50-50 affair, where technical brilliance is pitted up against distinct physical advantages, fans are split as to which of Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury will maintain their undefeated records and claim ultimate glory.

Here, we have collated the opinions of those who have walked the walk, giving their verdict for what will undoubtedly be one of the memorable boxing events in each of our lifetimes.

Those who back ‘The Gypsy King’ tend to do so because of his obvious edge in size, towering over the Ukrainian at 6’9” with a six-inch height and seven-inch reach advantage, as the more natural heavyweight of the two.

Fury will bring the WBC belt to the table, which he won with a generational and brutal performance against Deontay Wilder in 2020 and has defended on three occasions since, although it is his 2015 win against Wladimir Klitschko that may better serve as the proof that Fury’s success is not simply due to his size alone.

The Brit put an end to Klitschko’s nine-year reign with a dazzling display on away soil, outthinking the crafty champion and intelligently boxing his way to a unanimous-decision.

Against Usyk, many are calling for Fury to ditch his aggressive ‘Kronk’ approach and opt for a more conservative game plan for what is anticipated to be a ‘chess match’ of a bout, but this adaptability and versatility bodes well for Fury, who really has two options in terms of how he can win this contest – overwhelming or outsmarting – easier said than done.

After dominating at cruiserweight and capturing the undisputed title, Usyk made the switch to heavyweight in 2019 and hasn’t looked back since, silencing doubters who expected him to simply be too small for the division.

In 2021, Usyk became just the third man to have held belts at both cruiserweight and heavyweight (after Evander Holyfield and David Haye), doing so with a spectacular display against Anthony Joshua – who tried and failed to outbox Usyk rather than overpower him in both their initial encounter and in the rematch.

Meanwhile, Daniel Dubois attempted to use his size and power in Usyk’s second defence of the WBO, WBA & IBF belts and arguably found success, dropping Usyk for almost four minutes with a perceived low-blow. However, Usyk managed to rally and score a second knockout victory at the weight, stopping Dubois in the ninth-round.

The skills of both men, coupled with respective vulnerabilities shown against Francis Ngannou and Daniel Dubois, make for an awe-inspiring affair- one that even some of the greatest minds in the history of the division had difficulties predicting:

Andy Ruiz Jr. – Usyk

“I think if Usyk throws his combinations, goes inside there, sticks to the game plan and don’t let Tyson Fury box him around, use his jab, use his distance, I think he can do good.”

Anthony Joshua – Usyk

“I think it’s gonna be a really, really good fight. I’m gonna be straight up, I’m leaning towards Usyk. But who knows? They’re both at the top of their game. I wish them well. I hope they have a great training camp.”

Mike Tyson – Fury

“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.”

“Little guys are difficult to fight because they’re harder to hit because 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 movements but it’s gonna be difficult, he’s very small, very fast.”

Frank Bruno – Fury

“Usyk is very good fighter and a more experienced fighter than a lot of people give him credit for. Awkward so and so. He’s a very good fighter, he knows how to look after himself.

“But I dunno, a good heavyweight who knows what he’s doing will pin him in the corner and give him a few slaps and beat him.”

Shannon Briggs – Fury

“You can’t go against Fury, he’s never lost, you can’t really go against a man that is that big and can move like that. He’s a big man and look at his legs, he is built funny, he has got the legs of a regular, tall boxer, but he has got the body of a fat man who doesn’t work out, that helps him. He doesn’t have the muscle, but muscle don’t fight.”

“He’s got that slickness, he can move, he can move his head, and he doesn’t always get the knockout which shows you that he can go the rounds. A man like that, with that big of a size and that much endurance that he has, he can take a shot and give a shot, he can move around, he is dangerous. In the history of boxing, that man could always fight, because of how big he is.”

“Size doesn’t always matter, but in this case, a big man that can move and box like that, that is dangerous, and he can crack.”

Riddick Bowe – Fury

“I gotta say Fury. Fury has the experience and the class.”

Hasim Rahman – Usyk

“I think Usyk will win.

“I think Usyk is the best heavyweight that’s currently fighting today. I think Fury imitates Usyk, and he’s had a lot of success with it – fighting plodding, slow heavyweights [who aren’t] really boxing like that. Everything Fury can do in boxing, Usyk can do it better.”

Lennox Lewis – Fury

“I believe that Fury has great tributes, he’s tall, he can box on both feet, southpaw, orthodox, he can go forwards, but right now it’s difficult to beat a bigger guy so I always say the bigger guy has the advantage. I think Tyson Fury on points but you can’t count out Usyk.”