Teddy Atlas pointed straight to that issue when he broke down Fury’s position before the fight. He didn’t question the tools. He questioned how often they were used.
“He’ll be sporadic with his offense, inconsistent. He’ll punch and clinch sometimes. He’ll throw one, two, and be done, and when he does, he’ll allow moments to pass and rounds to pass,” Atlas said on his YouTube channel.
That description fits what has been seen in Fury’s last three outings against Oleksandr Usyk and Francis Ngannou. When Teddy Atlas talks about those “sporadic” outbursts, he’s essentially describing a fighter trying to work with his own gas tank
Under SugarHill Steward, Fury became a devastating, front-foot fighter. It worked against Deontay Wilder because Wilder is essentially a drag; Fury’s aggression overwhelmed him. But that style is physically taxing.
At 37, Fury seems to have transitioned from a high-volume seeker of KOs back to a clinch-and-rest” specialist, but without the elite footwork he had in 2015.
Atlas still sees a clear path for Fury in his match against Makhmudov. The size, the range and the ability to control distance should be enough to dictate the fight if he stays active.
“If he has anything left, it’s target practice,” Atlas said of Fury facing Makhmudov.
Atlas’ comment about “target practice” suggests that Fury can afford to be inconsistent against a slower, more stationary target like Makhmudov. But the danger is that this “sporadic” offense is not a choice.
If he allows Makhmudov to stay in the fight because he’s too tired to finish the job, he’s playing a dangerous game with a guy who has 19 KOs. He might have gotten away with it against a faded Chisora or a hesitant Whyte, but at this age it’s risky to do so against a high-pressure puncher like Makhmudov.
“I could see where there might just be sporadic offense, inconsistent offense, and that way seconds are ticking off the clock, and rounds are going by,” Atlas said.
Atlas essentially warns us that Fury is now a four-round fighter stretched across a twelve-round frame. He has to choose his spots because he can no longer own the whole canvas.
The punch, grab and lean strategy that Fury now relies on drains his opponent’s energy, but if they refuse to be held down or are physically powerful, it doesn’t work.
Makhmudov is a massive man with a background in the Soviet school of wrestling and heavy boxing. He is not a limited, thin-legged fighter or a small heavyweight. If Fury tries to lean on him for a breather, he could find himself in a grappling match that he doesn’t have the energy to win.
