I'm really looking forward to this fight and I think it's going to be highly entertaining and a clash of two very different styles and two very different men. I think this could be the fight of the year. Probably the most excited I've been for a fight since Kovalev-Hopkins, and that was in 2014.
I'm a huge supporter of Wlad Klitschko and always have been. What to say about him? He's easily a top-5, likely a top-3, or *the* top heavyweight of alltime. Purely going by the numbers, he's been champion now for roughly 10 years, and he has I believe the 2nd highest amount of title defenses in history (and of course, he's still going!). Wladimir has fought solid competition. Wladimir has a laser-like jab, powerful right hand, and his left hook can be downright lethal. He likes to fight at a distance and does tend to hold a bit. Wladimir is also used to having a size advantage over his opponents, which he will not have VS Fury (Fury is 3 inches taller than Wlad).
I'm also a huge supporter of Tyson Fury. He seems to have all the confidence in the world (and let's not forget, a large part of boxing has to do with mentality and mental strength), and possesses underrated boxing skills. He's also the younger, and bigger man. I thought he looked good against Steve Cunningham, he did go down in round 2, but he adjusted and used his size expertly and basically beat Cunningham down. His rematch with Chisora was also a solid win. Got a good jab when he uses it. Uses his size very well.
I expect Fury to be ultra aggressive in the early rounds of the fight. Wlad definitely hits much harder of the two, and I could see a scenario where Fury gets brave in the first few rounds and tries to bully Wlad, and Wlad lands some big counter shots (like the Cunningham fight). I think the question is if Wlad can take Fury out (I am going to say yes, because Wlad hits very hard). Because if Fury gets up and begins to use his size on Wlad it will be an interesting fight. So, actually, because of the size difference, I expect Wlad to do better early in the fight, while as the fight goes later, Fury will have an advantage because of his size, kind of like how the Cunningham fight played out.
It's a hard fight to predict and a lot of it comes down to if Wlad, at age 39, can still pull the trigger like he could for all of his career. Some have suggested he looked a bit "older" in his last fight (VS Jennings), and we'll definitely find that out in this fight. Because of Wlad's age and Fury's underrated skills, I do give Fury a decent chance of pulling the upset.
This fight may come down to who can land their jab more effectively. Who can dictate the pace of the fight and who can land their jab? Both men rely on the jab heavily and this fight is very much a jabber VS a jabber.
As for a prediction, I'll predict Klitschko in a close decision where both fighters land big shots. Id say theres also a chance of an early Klitschko KO, and there's also a chance of a late round TKO for Fury.