Boxing legend James Toney has predicted Tyson Fury will cruise to victory over fellow world champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury and Usyk will meet to crown the first undisputed heavyweight ruler since Lennox Lewis in 1999 when they touch gloves in Saudi Arabia on February 17. Fury will start as the favourite to have his hand raised despite his poor performance against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in October.

Usyk, meanwhile, will give up a size and reach advantage against the Brit as he looks to add the only belt missing from his collection. And Toney, who won world titles in three weight divisions, believes the Ukrainian will come up short. “Fury, easy,” he said when asked for his prediction. “Fury is a better boxer. He is a better boxer and he is more aggressive. Usyk, he is a good boxer but he is not aggressive, he boxes to stay safe.”

Fury himself also believes he will enjoy an easy night in Riyadh. “We’re both undefeated. He’s a champion, I’m a champion. It’s going to be a fight for the ages,” he said. “It’s been 24 years since we’ve had an undisputed champion. The Klitschkos were champions for around 10 years, so there’s been 14 years when the other heavyweights couldn’t do it.

“We’ve both been chosen and there can only be one winner. I’m going to become the undisputed champion. More than that, I’m destined to cement my legacy as the No.1 fighter of this era. To do that I’ve got to beat this little man, which is easier said than done because he’s a tricky boxer, slick and all of that.

“But I’ve seen many like him before and when they fight the big men, they struggle. And he will struggle on February 17. I will break him. He’s a middleweight, but it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog and he’s obviously got a lot of fight in him. But when you meet a big man who is a lot bigger but also has the fight inside him, let’s put it in a nutshell – you’re f****d.”