Tyson Fury’s former rival Steve Cunningham is not confident he will beat Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury failed to impress in his last fight against Francis Ngannou struggling to a points win, with many in the boxing world now tipping Usyk as favourite to beat the ‘Gypsy King’ on May 18.

Fury will face a huge challenge against Usyk in MayCredit: Top Rank

However, the WBC champion remains confident of becoming the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999, and looks in menacing shape after making a remarkable transformation.

But former rival Cunningham, who famously dropped the undefeated heavyweight during their February 2013 clash, is not sure Fury will hear the final bell this spring.

He told World Boxing News: “I think Usyk wins by decision against Fury. Either that or Fury gets disqualified.

“Fury’s going to have to lean and lay all over Usyk to tire him down as he does usually.

“I think the referee will be alerted to this before the fight [by team Usyk] and Fury will lose points.”

The American, who went on to lose their fight after his knockdown, also claimed Fury failed to take his previous outing against ex-UFC champion Ngannou seriously.

He continued: “I believe Ngannou only looked as good as he did fighting Fury because Fury didn’t take fighting an MMA guy seriously.

“Ngannou does have unbelievable power, though. He landed a clean shot on Fury, who wasn’t in shape at all.

Fury was floored by Cunningham back in 2013

“I was surprised at that but not at the fact that Fury got up and outpointed him.”

Fury has a significant size advantage over Usyk, standing at 6ft 9ins in comparison to the Ukrainian who stands at 6ft 3ins, which he will no doubt look to utilise during the exchanges.

The 35-year-old already looks in much better condition as he prepares to meet Usyk, and fans have been impressed with his pad work in training footage with his dad John.

It is expected he will need to beat Usyk twice in their heavyweight saga, with a two-way rematch clause active irrespective of the winner.

A potential all-British war with Anthony Joshua could be on the horizon if he does indeed progress beyond his upcoming opponent.

This will likely not happen until 2025, with Joshua hoping to fight again this year potentially against the winner of Filip Hrgovic’s clash with Daniel Dubois.