Oleksandr Usyk knows he can hurt the goliath Tyson Fury, and that will make it impossible for the former WBC heavyweight champion to fight the way he needs to in order to be victorious in his rematch on December 21 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The intention of the Hitman
Usyk won his previous fight by a split decision in 12 rounds on May 18, but this time, he wants to knock it out, and his whole “Hitman” persona is a message of intent.
Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) said in the interview that he was not happy with the way he fought in his loss to the unified heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) , struggling passively with his back against the ropes. showboating, and give way round.
In the rematch, Fury wants to come forward and attack Usyk with power shots like he did in the early rounds of their first fight. “The Gypsy King” said he wanted to come out “Hot” from the first round, supporting the smaller man and using his size to score a knockout.
“I’m going to heat. I can’t wait. On December 21, the belts will be mine again,” Fury said on social media. “I’m going to kick him out.”
Fury’s decision to come in heavier for the rematch will make it difficult for him to fight hard without gassing after four or five rounds, like in the first fight with Usyk. Carrying around 270+lbs will be difficult for Fury, and Usyk will make things more difficult for him with the fast pace he is setting.
“Usyk fights on the front foot all the time, and that slows Fury down. Fury is not in control. He is usually in control of fights where he sets the pace,” said Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channelThey are talking about the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on December 21st.
“It’s not just the pace that caused Tyson Fury so many problems (against Usyk). It was: ‘This guy has a pace, and it’s hard to keep the pace.’ That’s what Usyk did. He set a pace, and eventually, Fury got a little tired, hands down, and that was it. Usyk would take the confidence from the last five or six rounds.
The way their previous fight ended last time, Fury looked ruined, and was lucky not to be stopped. Usyk had him down by the eighth round and beat him in the last quarter of the fight to win a 12-round split decision.
Fans of the Gypsy King point out that he still wins his fights, but the fighters he beat were three guys without world class:
– John McDermott
– Derek Chisora
– Deontay Wilder
The Decline of the Gipsy King
Fury’s loss hurt his self-esteem, making him look like an old, dumb, overrated, improved fighter who was never as good as his naive fans had thought. If you want to accept that Fury is an overrated and pampered fighter or not, there is no mistaking the fact that he is aging.
Physically, the 36-year-old looks almost as old as Mike Tyson, 58, and he hasn’t done much better than him. This just goes to show that chronological age means nothing to people. When a person allows themselves to gain weight between fights, as Fury did, the former when they go on a diet to lose pounds quickly.
“Usyk will come in here thinking he can hurt Fury because he hurts the fighters he gets in the ring with, but now we know 100% he can hurt Fury,” Ade said. “That changes a lot. You can’t walk forward with your hands down, knowing that this guy can hit.
The fact that Usyk can hurt Fury limits a lot of what Tyson can do to turn things around in the rematch, because he can’t count on using pressure to win.
If Fury tries to walk Usyk down, he’s going to run into a lot of shots. In the first fight, Fury was deterred from getting any closer by Usyk’s body punches, which is why he retreated to the ropes to protect this sizeable target. With Fury’s midsection even thicker, he will be an inviting target once again, and this will force him to fight the ropes like last time.
“Usyk now knows he can beat Fury, and Fury knows this too. Tyson Fury does better in rematches. Wilder in the second fight, who would have predicted that? Chisora is not a world-class fighter, but the times that he fought Chisora in a rematch, he completely outclassed him. So, he’s getting better,” Ade said.
Fury-Usyk scores
– Usyk: 114-113
– Fury: 114-113
– Usyk: 115-112
