Tony Bellew believes Oleksandr Usyk is every bit as exceptional as Usyk’s countryman and friend, Vasiliy Lomachenko.

Bellew also considers Usyk the best cruiserweight in the history of boxing. The former WBC cruiserweight champion still picked Anthony Joshua to beat Usyk in their highly anticipated heavyweight title fight Saturday night in London, but one of Usyk’s conquests warned Joshua to avoid getting into a boxing match with the unbeaten Ukrainian southpaw.

Bellew, whom Usyk stopped in the eighth round of their November 2018 bout, also downplayed Usyk’s uneven performances in his last two heavyweight fights against Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora.

Usyk defeated Philadelphia’s Witherspoon (38-4, 29 KOs) by technical knockout after the seventh round in October 2019. A year later, he out-pointed England’s Chisora (32-11, 23 KOs) by slim margins on two of three scorecards (115-113, 115-113, 117-112).

“What goes on in the Witherspoon fight and the Chisora fight, it goes that way because he let it go that way,” Bellew said during the newest episode of “The DAZN Boxing Show,” which streamed Saturday before the start of the Joshua-Usyk card. “Just watch him against Murat Gassiev. Gassiev is far stronger and far more dangerous than Chazz Witherspoon and Dereck Chisora. And Dereck’s me boy. I love Dereck. But Murat Gassiev is a dangerous man. He could not lay a glove on Oleksandr. Why? Because [Usyk] goes in there with fear, the same fear that he will go in there with tonight. He will be super razor-sharp tonight. Trust me, his feet will be on point. He will not allow himself to be backed up to the ropes and stay there.

“The reason why I pick AJ is purely because, athletically, he’s the only heavyweight in the world who can get there and stay there. The other guys are too slow, Fury included. But Fury won’t box [Usyk] by pressing him. Fury will box him by drawing [Usyk] to him. He will make it a horrible, ugly fight. AJ will press, and he has to press. Do not get into a boxing match with this guy. He’s a genius.”

Liverpool’s Bellew dealt well with Usyk before the 2012 Olympic gold medalist dropped and stopped the exhausted ex-champion in their 12-round fight nearly three years ago at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Bellew led Usyk on two scorecards – 68-65, 67-66, 67-67 – entering the eighth round, in which Usyk sent Bellew to the canvas twice.

Usyk beat Bellew in the fight after he out-pointed Russia’s Gassiev (then 26-0) to become the fully unified cruiserweight champion. The 34-year-old Usyk decided to move back up to the heavyweight division after he beat Bellew (30-3-1, 20 KOs), who retired following that defeat.

The Caesars Sportsbook lists England’s Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) as almost a 3-1 favorite versus Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs). Their 12-round fight for Joshua’s IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles will headline a Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view show in the United Kingdom and Ireland (£24.95) and DAZN’s stream in the United States and numerous additional countries and territories.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.