Former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman says Tyson Fury is just a “shell” of the fighter he once was in his rematch against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 in Riyadh.
Rahman feels the punishment Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) absorbed in his three fights against Deontay Wilder got the best of him, leaving him a vulnerable fighter who fans saw Usyk beat earlier this year on the 18th of May.
Punch resistance is gone
Fury fans say he did well in his three fights against Wilder, which is true, but he took some big head shots in those fights, getting knocked down three times. He was undoubtedly knocked out in the first and third fights, but was spared by the referees.
The brutal right hands that Fury took from Deontay wore him down, leaving the fighter Ushyk took advantage of from pillar to post in the ninth round last May.
Watching Fury get knocked down by Usyk and saved by the referee showed that Father Time is knocking on his door, letting him know that his career as a top-level fighter is over.
“I think Deontay Wilder had a great game in this rematch between Usyk and Tyson Fury. I think Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury took everything from each other,” said Hasim Rahman FighthypeThey talk about their view that Tyson Fury is not the same fighter that he once was in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
Fury continued to win after fighting Wilder for the last time in 2021, but his wins came over lower-tier guys Derek Chisora, Dillian Whyte and Francis Ngannou. Tyson’s performance against Ngannou was terrible, with him being knocked down and looking nothing like the fighter he was eight years earlier.
“I think they’re both shells of their former selves, and I believe Usyk will win this rematch by stoppage,” Rahman said, predicting a knockout victory for Usyk over Fury. “I know he knows he can drop him and hurt him, and now I think the confidence is there. I think he’ll win by arrest.”
In Wilder’s case, he seems to have lost his confidence to throw the right hand, and his training hasn’t helped by converting him into a defensive fighter. Wilder has never had great punch resistance, and has gone with soft match-making during his reign as the WBC champion. It was a creation of his management, which kept him away from the risky opposition for the most part.
“I think he should fight the winner of the Joshua-Dubois rematch and then call it quits,” Rahman said of Usyk. “The man has done everything you can do in boxing. He’s pound-for-pound one of the greatest champions ever. He’s a gold medalist, an undisputed cruiserweight, an undisputed heavyweight. What else can you do? He has done everything.”
If Joshua wins the rematch with Daniel Dubois, he will go straight to the Fury fight because that is who His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants. Usyk won’t have a chance until later.
“I don’t think the first guys will be around in 2025. I think Fury, Usyk, and Joshua can be gone at the end of 2025. So, it’s a bunch of young people coming with the Bakoles.” Rahman said.
