Promoter Frank Warren has announced that WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defeat IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in his own bout on May 18th in an undisputed match-up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I believe that he will be able to defeat it by making full use of his IQ.
Fury's style shift? Or just sloppy boxing?
Warren said Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) has changed the way he fights since his second fight with Deontay Wilder in 2020, fighting more on the front foot instead of boxing like he did early in his career. I feel that it has become. He upset Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
In his second fight with Wilder, Fury used a lot of lean punches and rabbit punches. Those things, more than Fury's improved punching power or slugging ability, helped lead him to a knockout victory.
We can only judge the 35-year-old Fury on his last performance, but he looked pretty poor in his controversial 10-round split decision win over Francis Ngannou. I thought Fury lost him 7-3 in that fight, but he was a steal like many fans.
That may be what Fury is like at this point. His wins over British fighters Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte cannot say anything about him as neither are world class. They are old travelers.
Usyk: The true heavyweight king
All we can say is that Fury deservedly lost against the novice Ngannou, but now he will face arguably the No. 1 heavyweight fighter. I know Fury fans don't want to hear that, but that's the reality. Usyk currently has more heavyweight titles than Fury, with two wins over Anthony Joshua and more.
Fury's best career win came against the aging and shot 40-year-old Wladimir Klitschko, and it was a razor-thin victory. No one believes Fury can beat Wladimir in his prime. He's not that type of talent.
“By the way, he's doing some stuff, he's had to come off the floor a few times, but he's changed his style quite a bit. He's shown what a puncher he is. ” Warren told Sky Sports Boxing about Tyson Fury.
“About 'he's not a big puncher.' Look at how many breaks he's had on his record. He'll only be stopped if he can't take it anymore. That's what he's doing. Thing.”
For Fury's sake, I hope he doesn't expect to knock out Usyk. Because he's going to get countered all night and put himself in a worse situation than he was against Ngannou.
Also, it would be a good idea for Fury to forget about using ramp tactics to wear Usyk down, as it won't work. Usyk moves too well to fall victim to Fury's old leanings.
“I think that's what's going to happen with Usyk. He's going to do it in his own game because he's very, very smart.”