Experienced trainer breaks down the tactics that could decide battle to be crowned undisputed heavyweight world champion

This is likely to be a very close fight. You’ve got two unbeaten fighters, one in Oleksandr Usyk who has never been knocked down as a professional and the other, in Tyson Fury, who was asleep on the floor against Deontay Wilder and still got up. Fury has a two‑stone weight advantage, as well as a big height and reach edge. So he will use his jab to keep the fight at distance. Usyk has to get inside, hit him to the body and head and move off – a bit like guerilla warfare. If he tries to stand off and box Fury he’s going to be at a disadvantage.

The two fighters have experienced epic highs and crushing lows in the lead-up to Saturday’s undisputed decider

His eye-catching size and improbable name earned Tyson Fury attention but his amateur career was marked by frustration. Fury fought only 35 times (31-4) and his dream of going to the 2008 Olympics was shattered when David Price – responsible for one of those four defeats – was selected as Team GB’s super-heavyweight for Beijing. After a failed attempt to qualify for the Ireland team, a disillusioned Fury almost quit the sport at the age of 19. “My age of innocence was smashed,” he said. “For a while I didn’t go near the gym because I was so upset.”

Boxer has raised funds for Ukraine but faced criticism in the past for his apparent Moscow-leaning sympathies

On the streets of Kyiv this week, the name of the Ukrainian heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk prompted a few eye-rolls, alongside expressions of admiration for his sporting prowess.

The former cruiserweight, who fights the Briton Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, has been an active fundraiser for the Ukrainian military and humanitarian causes since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion. His success in the ring is a matter of considerable national pride.