Tyson Fury’s trainer Andy Lee said his training camp preparation for his first fight against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 has been disrupted due to the recent cut he suffered, preventing him from sparring. There was concern that the healing cut would reopen if Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) had sparred.
Lee reveals that Fury will be gunning for the December 21st rematch in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Of course, if Fury can’t go away again, the fans will hear about it later if he loses again.
Fans aren’t buying the lack of sparring bits as a credible excuse to explain why he lost to Usyk last May. Fury was hurt by a left hook to the head in the ninth and was hit with a barrage of unanswered punches.
That initial blow that Fury was hurt had nothing to do with his lack of sparring and more to do with his punch resistance not being up to par. If Lee had to make an excuse for Fury, a better argument would be that his chin is not the same after his three fights against Deontay Wilder.
While Fury came through those fights without suffering a loss, he was knocked down four times in those three fights. Two fights in the first fight with Deontay in 2018 and two more in their trilogy match in 2021.
The beating Fury suffered in his first fight with Wilder was devastating. Fury was knocked unconscious in the 12th round and, incredibly, given a count by the referee.
The cumulative damage Fury suffered in his trilogy with Deontay may have played a role in him being hurt by Usyk in the ninth. It has nothing to do with Fury’s lack of sparring. It just seems like Lee is making excuses to try and explain away Fury’s loss.
“Tyson crosses to the new round, and takes that punch. He shows incredible bravery and courage to get through,” said coach Andy Lee talkSport Boxingdiscussing Tyson Fury’s loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
“He sees through the next two rounds and then almost wins the last round or two. I think it could be a draw. Fights are won and lost in training and preparation. Because of the fight being reorganized and rescheduled because of a cut, Tyson couldn’t disappear on the field,” said Lee.
Fury had two training camps for his fight against Usyk. Therefore, there should be more time for him to prepare for the undisputed contest. It was one camp, but more like two because of the immense amount of time Fury had.
“Conditioning, sharpness and your ability to focus to stay ready and sustain attacks,” Lee said of what Fury lost by not sparring. When Tyson would succeed in the fight, he would retreat and try to rest to replenish his energy before making his next attack.
“In the meantime, he encouraged Usyk to move forward and gave him the focus to move forward to take it now because ‘I took a break’. It will be different because he can disappear,” said Lee on how the training camp will be different this time for the rematch with Usyk.
