Billy Joe Saunders: Fury Can Win With “One Simple Game Plan”

Billy Joe Saunders believes Tyson Fury can defeat unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in their December 21 rematch if he follows “one simple game plan” for their showdown in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The secret game plan

Former two-division world champion Saunders is not divulging the game plan to anyone, but he will share his secret knowledge with 36-year-old former WBC heavyweight champion Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) when they share training camp in preparation for the rematch against WBA, WBC and WBO champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) at the Kingdom Arena.

Billy Joe’s possible game plan for Fury:

1. Hold and lean: Mauling was Fury’s main strategy for winning his fights after teaming up with Kronk gym-trained trainer Sugarhill Steward, and it worked like a charm until last May when Usyk solved it and defused it. That tactic was the equivalent of the Maginot line and was child’s play for Usyk to solve it. Without it, Fury was just his usual domestic self, reduced to what he was before, stripped of his magical powers.
2. Jabbing
3. Thrown on top: Fury caught Usyk with an uppercut early in their clash last May, briefly hurting him. However, Fury’s attempts to land additional uppercuts failed as Usyk adjusted, noticing when he wanted to throw that shot.
4. Lose weight

Addressing Saunders’ apologies

“Tyson Fury, he can beat Usyk three times in one night with one simple game plan,” Billy Joe Saunders told talkSport Boxing YouTube channel, predicting a victory for former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury over unified champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.

Saunders won’t say what the secret game plan he believes will allow 36-year-old Fury to “beat Usyk three times in one night” but it’s likely the lean and split he used against Deontay Wilder and his clubs . rabbit beats.

The leaning and illegal jabs worked like a charm in the two fights he won against Wilder. That approach won’t work against Usyk. He can spot Fury’s rabbit punching from a mile away because he’s telegraphing them.

“These expert men who know boxing, and they make a decision on Tyson’s last fight (against Usyk on May 18),” Saunders said. “I don’t make any excuses for him, but I know what went on in the camp and what didn’t go on in the camp.”

It sounds like Saunders is making excuses for Fury, but you can’t blame him for wanting to help his good friend. Whatever excuses Saunders gives, the public aren’t buying because they saw the fight, and those who didn’t saw the replay of the ninth round when a bad Fury was out on his feet and saved by the referee after he 20 ate unanswered headers. from Usyk.

“I know that even when it came to sparring and other bits, there were things that were missing that need to be fixed and corrected this time. He (Fury) asked me to go with him to the training camp. So, I’m delighted to say I’ll be going with him.

“My honest opinion is I don’t think there is anyone out there who can outbox Usyk. Tyson needs to get it out of his head that you are not going to run or wait for this man.

The importance of adaptation

“It’s very, very simple how to beat him. You must use your size. You must use your physical advantages. You have to use every attribute to the fullest with this guy,” Saunders said.

If Saunders had watched the Fury-Usyk fight last May, he would have known that Fury tried to use his size to use his mauling tactics, but he was repeatedly forcefully pushed away by Oleksandr. Fury has given up on his lean and grapple tactics he used to defeat the wiry Deontay Wilder.

Once that Sugarhill Steward tactic was taken away from Fury, the cupboard was bare, and he had nothing else in his bag of tricks. This is the most important contribution Sugarhill has made to Fury since he took over as his coach. Usyk immediately neutralized that simple tactic on May 18, leaving Fury with only his weak jab and slow power shots to fight him with, and it didn’t work.

“Not just run of the mill, because the first five laps were like a sparring session for him. I’ve seen tougher sparring in the first five rounds than I did for that fight. I’ve seen with Tyson that if he gets his way early, he tends to shut down. If he gets knocked out cold on the floor and gets up, that’s when he shifts gears,” Saunders said.

Fury was so badly out of shape for the first fight, with saddlebags around his waist, that he couldn’t fight hard in the first five rounds of the fight. Although he came into the championship rounds to make it, it was only because the 37-year-old Usyk was exhausted and showing his age.

If Usyk had kept fighting hard after the infamous ninth round, he would have finished Fury. Usyk lets Fury back into the fight by not going for the finish at the start of the tenth round. If it was someone with a killer instinct like Martin Bakole, Fury would have counted stars in the tenth.

Not even the referee who worked the fight could have saved Fury if Bakole had struggled that night. If Usyk learned from that fight, he won’t let Fury off the hook if he hurts him.

The comment about Fury being knocked out cold refers to his first fight against Deontay Wilder on 1 December 2018 when he was knocked unconscious in the twelfth round; the referee inexplicably gave a score while he slept.

Many fans saw this as an example of Fury being given special treatment because, given Tyson’s condition, that fight had to be stopped on the spot.

“I believe Tyson will win the next fight, and I believe he will win by knockout,” Saunders said.

It sounds like Saunders needs to put aside his friendship bias and take a clear look at Fury’s rematch with Usyk and admit that Tyson is out of his league. Fury’s chances of winning the rematch are slim, and he will likely be knocked out this time because there won’t be a referee to step in and save him with a standing eight count like last May.