Promoter Oscar De La Hoya is picking Tyson Fury to avenge his loss to WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk tonight, predicting a knockout victory for the Gypsy King in Riyadh.
De La Hoya says he sees something in the eyes of Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) that makes him think he’s going to win. He feels that Fury (36) was not mentally there in his 12-round split decision loss to Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) earlier this year on May 18.
Can Fury avenge his loss?
Oscar thinks former WBC heavyweight champion Fury’s 55-lb weight advantage and power will be too much for the 226-lb Usyk, who started his career at cruiserweight.
Fury weighed in at a massive 281 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in. Even though Fury’s weight is probably five to six pounds lighter because he’s wearing a leather jacket, he’s still going to outweigh Usyk by 40+ pounds tonight.
One area De La Hoya failed to mention was Fury’s fragile punch resistance. He was hurt by Usyk in round nine, and took 20 consecutive head shots before being saved by the well-meaning referee, who gave him a strange eight count.
That was only seven months ago, and that’s not enough time for Fury’s head to recover from what he endured in that round. If Usyk taps Fury on the chin, he might just go like before. There won’t be that umpire to save him this time with another useful figure eight.
Oscar Forsees Fury KO
“I love Tyson Fury. I see something in his eyes. I see something in his spirit, and I just believe the first fight they had, I don’t think Tyson was here (mentally there),” Oscar De La Hoya told the Fighthype. Youtube channel, talking about the first match between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18.
“This time I see him focused, I see him determined, and I could see him knocking Usyk out,” De La Hoya continued. “I think it’s a good thing. A difference of 50 pounds is a big, big advantage,” Oscar said of Fury outweighing Usyk by 55 pounds at the weigh-in.
“I think if Tyson lands the perfect punch, Usyk goes down, and I love Usyk. He is the best boxer and heavyweight in a while. I think Tyson’s reach and IQ in the ring might overwhelm Usyk this time.”
Fury will need Usyk to stand still so he can finish him if he does hurt him with a shot because he doesn’t have the one-punch power to get the knockout.
“I’m going to go with Fury,” said Amir Khan. “He will be more than ready because Fury has that natural talent. He is technically more talented and bigger than them. I had Fury win this fight because he is bigger and stronger. He’s going to learn from the mistakes he made in the first fight. The one thing about Fury is that he adapts pretty quickly.
“In the fights against Wilder in the first and second fight, he adjusted so much going into the third fight. That’s the one thing about Fury. He is one of those fighters who is always adapting and always getting better. He always learns from his mistakes and becomes a better fighter,” said Khan.
