Today is the day when Oleksandr Usyk cements himself as one of the greatest of all time or when Tyson Fury avenges his only loss and reclaims his heavyweight throne. Both know what is at stake and the importance of today’s match.
Fury’s behavior is different for this match; he seems laser-focused and took a different approach in his interaction with Usyk. At Thursday’s press conference, Fury verbally attacked Usyk with personal insults. This could be an attempt to anger the Ukrainian into a fire. Fury’s strategy for this match could be similar to what he did in the second match against Deontay Wilder, where he chose to weigh more at 273 pounds. In that second match, he employed a pressure attack that surprised Wilder, dropped him several times and ultimately stopped him in the 7th round.
Anthony Joshua fought Oleksandr Usyk twice, and it was in the 9th round of his rematch that he found the most success, landing an amazing 28 punches. In that round, he used effective pressure and put Usyk on his feet. Usyk, however, being the master tactician, made the necessary adjustments in the next round and knocked Joshua out, landing a 39 punch in the 10th.
It takes something really special to beat Usyk. His control of angles, elusive movement, and his ability to make adjustments in the fight make it very difficult for opponents to be truly effective against him. His known weakness is his body, and many have found success limited to landing clean punches to his midsection. None more so than Daniel Dubois, who landed a devastating punch on Usyk’s waist that sent him to the canvas. The punch was controversially scored as a low blow by the referee, but many believe it was legal. Both Dubois was successful in landing several punches to the body throughout the match.
At yesterday’s weigh-in, Fury came in at 281 pounds, which is the same as Usyk’s 226. The difference of 55 pounds will be bigger and stronger, to apply pressure, and to bully Usyk inside. In the first match, Fury was effective before landing several straight uppercuts, the one he landed in the 6th round stunned Usyk and caused some serious damage causing him to be seriously shaken, leading to Usyk’s famous image kissing his crucifix. Fury will look to duplicate this effort and punish him.
To be truly effective, he must be smarter than Usyk, which is not an easy task. He must be unpredictable from boxing at short and long range. Give Usyk different looks and attack from different angles. Usyk is great at adjusting, and if Fury becomes predictable or repetitive, Usyk will change tactically. Fury must control the distance; He didn’t do a good job in the first match and he suffered because of it. He has a 7 inch reach advantage and must use his jab when he is at range. He should do that a lot and throw it at a higher rate than he did in the first game. He had limited success, landing 62 jabs. He must keep Usyk at a distance and not allow it
let him go inside until he is ready to fight him. Fury should also target the body a lot as an effective body attack slows Usyk down. The bigger question is, can Fury go the distance with the added weight? If he is unable to slow down Usyk, he may find himself in trouble defending. The first match was won by a narrow margin, with Usyk winning by split decision. With the judges they scored 115-112, 114-113 for Usyk and 114-113 for Fury. The outcome of this match may end differently as Fury’s out-of-ring adjustments are already visible. His fire, weight and demeanor show that he will be much more aggressive in this match. The showboating and game shown in the first match will be minimized, and instead, he will spend his energy to seriously hurt Usyk. Usyk must survive the initial storm and make the necessary adjustments to survive Fury’s pressure. The rematch should be just like the first.
