Promoter Bob Arum has questions about Tyson Fury's recent decline ahead of his big fight against Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Arum is perplexed by the recent form of 35-year-old WBC heavyweight champion Fury, who faced Francis Ngannou last October. Because he looked terrible against a 0-0 novice.
Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) was dropped hard by Ngannou's left hook and looked tipsy when he got back up. Fury would have lost the fight if the judges had not given him a generous score in his favor.
Alm doesn't know if Fury is over the hill or just a lazy, dissolute slacker who didn't train hard for a fight. To me, Fury had aged since his fight with Deontay Wilder and was showing the classic signs of a fighter growing old and becoming mediocre. It happens to people.
Aging accelerates rapidly, and people change from looking like they are in their 20s to being middle-aged and looking like they are over 50. Fury looks closer to his age and some argue that could be the reason he had so many problems against Ngannou.
Concerns about Fury's form
- Lack of preparation: One theory about Fury's performance in Bob Arum's fight against Ngannou is that he didn't train hard, even though he claimed he did. His career-high weight of 277 pounds suggests otherwise. Of course, Fury has looked average in his last two fights against Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora.
- Decline with age: Arum believes age may have an effect on the 35-year-old Fury. Looking at the physical changes in his appearance since 2020, he looks like a different person. Fury has visibly aged since his second fight with Deontay Wilder.
“I believe Fury and Usyk will be a great fight. It's certainly a historic fight. I always thought Fury's boxing ability would be too much for Usyk because of his size,” the promoter said. Bob Arum spoke to BoxNation about the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight.
“Very troubled by the way Tyson Fury looked in his last fight with Ngannou in Riyadh. I was there. I thought he looked horrible. Now, there are two explanations.
“Number one, he didn't really practice hard for that match. Number two, as everyone gets older, physically they don't function as well as they did when they were younger. So… Is that what we're seeing based on the Ngannou fight, or did he not take it as seriously and wasn't ready? We'll find out on May 18th,” Arum said. He continued.
Aram's thinly veiled troubles:
- Fury looked 'horrible' against Ngannou: Arum was downplaying it in his comments about how Fury looked against former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou last October. Arum's faith in his fighter, who was 35 years old and looked the part, must have been shaken in that fight as he watched the novice Fury get beaten up in the ring.
- Fury's excuse: Is Fury just getting older or resigning himself to an easy fight? Arum leaves it open, but it's not an enthusiastic endorsement.
- Big “what if”: Arum says that if Fury was still in his prime, he would have no problem beating Usyk. Unfortunately, that's not possible. Fury is not in his prime. There is no time machine that can take him back to 2015, when he was still in his prime.
million dollar question
“Yes, if Tyson was on his A game. There's no way Usyk or any other heavyweight could beat Tyson, who has fought Wilder the last two times and also fought Dillian Whyte, but that would be huge.” That's hypothetical. Does he have it? We'll find out on May 18th,” Arum said.
