Oleksandr Usyk wore a killer outfit during today’s press conference to send a clear message to former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury that his time is up, and he will be done on December 21st. Unified champion Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) will knock out Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) and collapse his career.
Usyk to complete Fury
A knockout loss for the 36-year-old Fury would destroy what’s left of his popularity, reinforcing the view many fans already have that he’s washed up.
Fury is going to have to raise his game significantly to find the remaining spark he once had to prevent Usyk from bringing about the inevitable end. I don’t believe Fury has it anymore.
The $200 million Fury quickly accumulated over the past four years softened him, and rich foods accelerated the natural aging process. He looks like his father, who doesn’t look young either.
Usyk was prevented by the referee from knocking Fury out in round nine earlier this year on May 18, when he pulled him off the stricken fighter when he was one stroke away from the coupe de grace in Riyadh. The referee gave Fury a standing eight count which made no sense and looked strange.
The referee’s move almost affected the outcome, as Usyk narrowly won with a 12-round split decision. Had Fury won the fight, the referee’s decision to stop the action in the ninth for the standing eight could have resulted in a massive backlash. As it is, many fans felt that the referee was showing favoritism to save Fury from being knocked out.
Despite Usyk being the champion in the rematch, he is the B side in this fight and will be considered the challenger. This means he will have to focus on getting the knockout to ensure he gets the win.
Anger holds out hope
“A little more focus and a little more lack of complacency and I should do the job,” Tyson Fury said during today’s press conference for his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk. “My rematch with people always ends one way. I always beat them in the rematch.”
What Fury fails to mention are the fighters he knocked out in rematches. He conveniently left that part out because those are the three he stopped in second fights: John McDermott, Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder. Knocking out those three doesn’t mean Fury is going to be able to do the same thing against Usyk because there is a huge gulf in talent between him and those fighters.
“Fury’s probably going to shake it up a little bit and try to get that jab going and the uppercuts, all that worked for him between rounds four and seven,” Adam Smith said. Boxing News. “I spoke to Sugarhill Steward and he said: ‘Just don’t get caught.’ Can Usyk hurt Fury?”
Fury has already stated what his game plan will be for the rematch. He will use his jab, uppercuts, finesse and pressure to try and wear down Usyk. It’s the same thing Fury had success with in the first half of his fight with Usyk on May 18. Those things worked until the bottom fell out in lap seven, and then it was all downhill. Things turned bad for Fury in round nine as he was hurt by a scorching left hook from Usyk.
“If Fury goes for it early, will he leave enough gas in the tank for the second half if Usyk survives the storm? The first two or three rounds of the fight are so important because Usyk did something in the first round that confused Fury a bit.
“He made Fury a bit of a coward. He chased him around the corners, pinned him a lot, and I think he got a really good start in the fight,” Smith said.
The feints Usyk used as Fury tied in knots, not knowing when the punches would come. Fury’s punches were lacking, and he wasn’t effective with the ones he did land. In the first half of the fight, Fury landed some good shots that made Usyk fight back, but it wasn’t consistent enough.
By the seventh round, Usyk landed a full-force left hand on Fury’s nose, and he was clearly bothered by the shot as he backed up to the ropes. It was all dominance from that point on, with Usyk marking with shots. Anger was perched on the ropes like a giant bird, too tired and hurt to do much more than cover.
