Tyson Fury is training hard to shed the stubborn pounds to be lighter and well-conditioned for his rematch against WBA/WBC/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 in Ryadh.
It’s doubtful that losing weight will make a difference for Fury, as his problem has been his bump resistance, not the extra pounds. Fans saw the Gyspy King Fury being saved by the referee from being knocked out in the ninth round. Being lighter for that fight wouldn’t have changed what happened to Fury.
The real problem is Fury’s punch resistance, which has decreased after his three fights with Deontay Wilder. He was knocked unconscious in the first fight and probably knocked out in the third game.
Even though Fury escaped those three bouts without suffering two deserved losses, he still took vicious head shots that left him vulnerable to Usyk’s punches last May. For the December 21st rematch, Usyk has already made it known that he will go after Fury and attack him with combinations to ensure that he does not see the final bell.
“Team Fury believes Tyson will be in a much better place and condition for this rematch. I have never bet against Tyson Fury except the last Usyk fight. I think he can do it, I really do,” Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports, predicting a win for Tyson Fury in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury’s lighter weight for the rematch may not help matters, as the real issue is his age and physical decline. Years of yo-yo dieting, weight gain, rich food, soft matches and the wear and tear of three fights against Deontay have left Fury in an extremely vulnerable state.
After last May’s fight, Usyk will take matters into his own hands to ensure that Fury is not saved by the referee again by finishing him as soon as he strips him. This means that if the referee on duty gives Fury a bizarre standing eight count to save him, he will still be eliminated anyway.
Last time Usyk dropped the ball by not attacking Fury in the tenth round to finish him off after the referee saved him in the ninth. It was a huge mistake that almost cost Usyk the fight.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how much that fight (Fury-Usyk) got out of both of them, because when Usyk walked back to his dressing room, he could barely stand up and was held down. Fury was all over the place in the ninth round,” Hearn said.
Last May, Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) failed to take advantage of a nearly 40-lb weight advantage against Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), losing a 12-round split decision. The general belief is that Fury was not in shape at 262 lbs to fight hard enough to win.
Fury, 36, is expected to be much trimmer, but his weight could still be close to the same. The idea is that he will pack on muscle while losing fat like he did when he defeated Deontay Wilder for the first time in their second fight in February 2020.
“So, it just shows who’s going to come out of that fight with more miles on the clock, and I think Tyson Fury can do that. But for us, we have to get our job done on Saturday and then we can look forward to being ringside on December 21,” Hearn said of his fighter, Anthony Joshua, who challenges IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois this Saturday night in London. .
Of course, as a dog in this race, Hearn needs Fury to defeat Usyk in the rematch to make sure the British mega-fight with Joshua makes more money. As Hearn says, the Fury-Joshua fight will still happen even if one or both fighters lose their preliminary bouts, but he’s praying for both to win so their bout can bring in more revenue.
Hearn calls it the biggest fight in boxing, which is dead wrong. Fury vs. Joshua would be the biggest fight in British boxing, but not in world terms. Both guys are seen as old, withered and vulnerable.
Americans don’t consider them the best. They are just two pampered UK fighters who haven’t faced much opposition during their careers, aside from their bouts against Usyk, which they both lost.
“I think he can do it!”
Eddie Hearn discusses who he thinks Usyk v Fury 2 will win
#JoshuaDubois | Sky Sports Box Office | 21 Sept | #Riyadh Season Card pic.twitter.com/vFtOaA8UQj
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