There are question marks over whether Tyson Fury can physically win the rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21. Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) is getting a second chance after losing to Usyk by a 12-round split decision earlier this year on May 18.
Furia was full of excuses after that loss, and clearly didn’t want to take the high road by showing class by praising Usyk.
Tyson’s apology:
– Lack of sparring
– Complacency
– Judges bias: Give the win to Usyk due to war
Supposedly, Fury has fixed the mistakes he made in the first fight and will come up with a better game plan to beat Usyk. However, this does not seem realistic because he is not young enough or physically equipped to do the job.
Is Furia physically capable of winning?
He’s 36, looks more like someone in his mid-50s, and his body might not let him do the things he needs to do to defeat WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KO ) headliner at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
“My question is, physically, is it there at this age? Sometimes, your mind wants to be there, but your body might not be there,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Probox TV about whether 36-year-old Tyson Fury is physically capable of defeating Oleksandr Usyk at his age.
“He hasn’t always lived a great life between fights. So what kind of age do you age faster. Let’s see if he can get his mind right and if he can bring the physical part in the ring at this age. In the early part of the fight, Fury was doing a great job.
“Usyk’s answer was only a matter of time, because he was constantly putting on that mental pressure, cutting the ring. He was bound to force a mistake at some point. Fury never took advantage of Usyk’s backup . He kept Usyk going, cut him off, and made him feel that tension and pressure despite the fact that Fury boxed well,” Malignaggi said.
Fury routinely lets his weight get out of hand between fights and then has to cut the pounds in the ring. Nothing has changed in this respect. Fury has gained a lot of weight since his last fight against Usyk on May 18, and he still hasn’t picked up the pounds.
With just a month to go before the rematch, Fury looks like he’s 25 pounds overweight. It’s not good, but it gives an excuse if he loses again. He can deceive himself and the public by blaming the loss on being overweight. Fury blames his weight for his defeat, he can shield his ego. He may try to avoid embarrassment by creating an excuse that his fans will believe.
Fury down (he put his loss last time down to a brief lapse in concentration. His trainer, SugarHill Steward, used the same line, saying repeatedly that Fury is just “caught”, as if the loss was only by one punch instead. Fury should have ditched Sugarhill once he heard that, but he didn’t, and he can be held to blame if he loses a revenge
Usyk was landing shots to Fury’s head and body in every round. All shifts were closed until the ninth. That’s when Usyk charged in with a left hand and hurt Fury with a head shot. He had Fury out on his feet, but the referee stopped him from hitting him.
“He constantly felt that pressure, that mental anguish. Eventually, it translated into an error, and Usyk turned things around. Maybe Fury will be a little more physical in this fight,” said Malignaggi.
Usyk stayed close to Fury, using feints and targeting his basket. Punches to the body is what led to Fury retreating to the ropes in the first round after initially being successful. Once Fury started taking punches to the midsection, he immediately retreated to the ropes, and began ducking to hide that he was bothered by the blows.
Few of Fury’s past opponents have attacked him to the body, and this has allowed him to have more success than he would have otherwise. Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora did not throw at Fury’s body.
They were headhunting, and he managed to lean back to avoid being hit. His body was there, but those fighters were still headheats. Therefore, they did not take advantage of the fact that his body was open in the way of Usyk.
“I think Fury could make some adjustments like he did against Wilder where he went from the first to the second fight from a boxer on the back foot to a physical guy on the front foot because he was much more great. Usyk will not go as quietly as Wilder,” said Malignaggi.
Wilder has fought badly all three times he has faced Fury. Let Fury lean on him and without making him pay or push him away. Usyk, a much smaller and weaker fighter than Wilder, didn’t allow Fury to hold, and he kicked him out when he tried to get a hold.
