Carl Froch believes Tyson Fury will burn out if he does not score a fourth-round knockout of Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday. Froch thinks Fury’s weight is too high at 281 pounds for him not to fade and lose to unified heavyweight champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
If ‘Gyspy King’ Fury does disappear after three or four rounds, he will likely be knocked out by Usyk. The referee who saved Fury last time with his timely count of eight in round nine will not take part in the rematch on Saturday. So, Tyson will be alone, and have to get himself out of hot water without a helping hand.
Fury decided to build up with the desperate belief that he could use the weight to gain more power and perhaps rely on Usyk to wear him down. He used that tactic against Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
That style was taught to Fury by his trainer, SugarHill Steward, but it was only a game plan that worked against the limited three fighters above. It was ineffective against Fury’s last two opponents, Usyk and Francis Ngannou.
Doubts about endurance
“Just the confidence, the smile and the balance of Usyk. He just flunks class today. With the first fight going the way it did in round nine, I’ve made him the favorite all week, and I’m even more confident,” said Carl Froch. Matchroom Boxingwho picked Oleksandr Usyk to win in his defense against Tyson Fury on Saturday night.
“You can’t write off Tyson. He is a big boy; he is strong but i think it is too heavy (281 lbs). It is 20 stone. If you don’t get him out there in the first three or four rounds, he’s going to blow a gas jet. He is going to fill that extra weight himself. I don’t think he did himself any extra favors.
“I may be wrong. He might go in there and lean on Usyk, catch him and try to get him out. That has to be his game plan,” Froch said.
Fury appears to lack confidence, and his trainer, Sugarhill, has no ideas other than the game plan that worked for the Wilder fight. Fury got one idea: to try to bully Usyk.
“Take off the leathers, and let’s say he’s down to 277. He’s been there before. I didn’t like him at that weight,” commentator Steve Bunce said of Fury. “That’s when he’s slow and cumbersome. That’s the plan, of course. It’s a great plan, but what happens in round six if Usyk has avoided all the danger. All that weight takes a toll.
“Usyk, with his clothes on, he’s probably exactly the same as he was in the last fight, because that’s what he is. He is a scientist.”
