Boxing expert Teddy Atlas feels it is important for Tyson Fury to attack the body of Oleksandr Usyk in Saturday night's heavyweight fight.
Atlas believes Team Fury can take advantage of Usyk's past weaknesses in this area if they work on his torso throws.
IBF/WBA/WBO champion Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) was KOed in his last fight against Daniel Dubois last August with a body shot that the referee ruled was a low blow. Usyk was down for five minutes recovering from the punch.
On replay, the punch hit the beltline of Usyk's truck, which was pulled up high. That punch would have been a knockout win for Dubois, so the referee should have made sure Usyk's core wasn't that high at the start of the round.
Fury doesn't punch as hard or as fast as the 26-year-old Dubois, so targeting that area might not get the same reaction as Usyk.
Usyk's vulnerability to body shots
“It would be irresponsible for Fury's camp to understand the game plan and not test the body based on some of the reactions to some of Usyk's body punches,” boxing expert Teddy Atlas said of the team on FightHub TV. Told. Fury needs to train Tyson to attack the body of Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night.
“How many 6-foot-9-inch guys of that stature go to the body?” Not very many. It's not easy, but it can be done. Fury is athletic enough to do that. I've seen him throw his right hand to the body.
“You have to be able to do that without being exposed to really good counterpunchers.
Fury's Reach and Recent Wake-up Call
“I support Fury in terms of his reach. I think the best thing that could happen to him is a bad performance against Ngannou. It woke him up. I was sleeping on him before too. That reach will be difficult for Usyk to handle.
“Usyk found a way to win. He's been doing it since he was a teenager and then won the Olympics. I chose Usyk, but I'm not going to be a charlatan who goes both ways. I’m going to stick with Usyk. It’s going to be a very tough fight,” Atlas said.
